Red
by Okami Endless
Summary: Tsuna didn't think he'd end up in an alleyway beaten, or end up being bitten by a vampire who called himself Reborn. Apparently he's heir to the Vongola mafia family. Well great, just great. Twin-fic. COMPLETE
1. Start

**Title: **Red

**Author: **Okami Endless

**Rated: **T

**Genre: **Humor, Suspense, Hurt/Comfort, Family/Friendship, Slightly darker than canon (because of its supernatural-ness)

**Warnings:** beginning suspense, vampire!Reborn, slight twisting of canon (see previous warning), abuse, sociopath tendencies, LUCE &amp; KYOKO, no pairings

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KHR

**Summary: **Tsuna didn't think he'd end up in an alleyway beaten, or end up being bitten by a vampire who called himself Reborn. Apparently he's heir to the Vongola mafia family. Well great, just great. Twin-fic

* * *

_Tsuna was shocked, unable to move from the emotion that rushed through his veins, because standing there in front of him was the woman Reborn had shown him pictures of and dare he say, actually liked, more than anyone else in the world: Luce, the former Sky Arcobaleno._

_Luce, with a ripped up white dress and pale, white skin that was surely a sign the woman wasn't alive. Bandages were over the right side of her face and her right eye, which were stained with dried blood over the area. Her right leg looked like it had so many stiches around the thigh and ankle that for all intents and purposes someone must have deliberately dismember it once upon a time from her body._

_The one-eyed Luce smiled at him, leaned down, and patted him on the head. "It's nice to meet you, Tsuna."_

* * *

_If Natsu saw him now, Tsuna was sure his twin would laugh at his misfortune before turning into his more murderous self and attempt to kill the Varia. Anyone who Natsu didn't like that got within three feet of Tsuna, friend or enemy, he'd punish. Of course, afterwards he'd beat Tsuna for 'forcing' him to do extra work because Tsuna was too weak to do anything._

_Mochida Kensuke was an example of this. He had kissed Tsuna's hand and proclaimed that he loved Tsuna and wished to be his boyfriend when Tsuna was only thirteen. Natsu, who had been acting like a lovely popular guy who was so devoted to his dead girlfriend that he didn't date, had full-out stomped up to Mochida and slapped him, and then attempt to throw Mochida out the window. _

_When it was all over, Natsu had given a very convincing fake smile as his façade clicked back into place. _

"_I'm just so glad my twin is safe! I thought Mochida was going to force him if he didn't agree and I just lost it! Sorry guys." Natsu had said, right before dragging Tsuna away by the back of his shirt._

_Then his Hyper Intuition had screamed at Tsuna to move, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge and a bullet went through the back of his left knee._

* * *

_Reborn claimed Tsuna's smile could cause a war. Basil, along with Hayato and Takeshi, couldn't disagree. Luckily, Natsu had seen none of this, as he had been running away from the Ninth, who was insisting Natsu take the half Vongola ring. Natsu, who had already been offered the half ring by Iemitsu, had refused, saying he wouldn't wear it until Tsuna had a ring of his own._

* * *

"_Is there other ways to fix the curse?"_

"_Not unless you think death is freedom." replied Reborn._

"_So then you have created all this elaborate scheme, just for your own interest." prompted Timoteo, raising an eyebrow._

_Reborn smirked. "I'm not playing the mafia game Timoteo, I'm the founder of it. I play to win, and I've already reached the final boss. Can you say the same?"_

_Timoteo sighed. "I didn't plan on having two 'final bosses' to beat, Reborn. What do you propose I tell the other Arcobaleno?"_

"_Tell them if they come here I'll shoot them. I won't just tell them. If they want the answer I've given you, they're going to have to fight for it."_

* * *

"_So you care about him? You, the greatest hitman?" A laugh came from the possessed Tsunayoshi's lips. "Isn't that a weakness, dear Sun Arcobaleno?"_

"_I can protect them," said Reborn. "Don't get any ideas, Mukuro."_

"_Yet you asked me, an escaped Vendicare prisoner, to help you. That's your protection? How amusing."_

* * *

_-the bathroom door open and dug through the cabinets with one hand to find the first-aid kit._

_Grabbing it, Gokudera ran back to the kitchen where Iemitsu sat, groaning in pain, Tsuna stood, looking too terrified to move, and Natsu lay unconscious on the ground. He began by wrapping his shoulder so he could work more efficiently and then moved over to Iemitsu. As his knees touched the floor to bend down, the Storm found himself in a puddle of blood._

"_Dammit, this is a fucking mess," said Gokudera. He grabbed Iemitsu's arm that was pressed close against the man's chest and wrenched it away from him forcefully. As he put the bandages on the man hissed in pain but didn't try to shove the Storm guardian away._

"_Why are you…?"_

_Gokudera grimaced, putting the last length of the bandage around the bloody stump. "I only attacked you because you inured my bosses, nothing more. I don't hold a grudge and I don't intend to get on the Ninth's bad side so I'll help you, but don't expect a 'your welcome' after this…"_

* * *

_Basil looked distraught for a moment, but complied, knowing it would be bad to go against the future Vongola Decimo, whoever that might be. To Basil he could see that ever if the truth had come out about the Sawada family, they could never fully recover._

_The behaviors of the past would always haunt them, no matter if the twins had forgiven each other and Reborn got the whole Vongola Decimo problem sorted out. The fact still remained that if Mukuro's illusion was broken, the scar on Tsuna' neck would still be there and it wasn't just going to magically disappear, and his voice would never come back to what was perceived as normal, and it would always be a natural reflect to flinch and shy away whenever someone raised a hand near his face._

* * *

_It was silent for a few seconds before chaos happened._

"_M-my tuna-fish killed someone?" Iemitsu's face looked torn between tears and disbelieving rage._

_Fon stared at the twins, analyzed their movements that could give a clue that Tsuna was lying. Yet with the orange eyes practically holding up a sign that he was tapping into his Hyper Intuition, the boy stood firmly. It was hard to read him, but Natsu was a different story. Natsu, the one that hurt Tsuna, the one that tried to kill him, the one that had already fallen into despair, looked as if someone had slapped him._

* * *

"_Hello Tsuna-kun." said Haru. "I'm Haru, desu. You probably don't remember me but I was one of Kyoko's best friends. She told me a lot about you and Natsu. It's nice to meet you, though not your twin. How could someone so nice corrupt such a pure soul? How dare he!"_

_Tsuna didn't dare ask just what Reborn had done to make this girl in front of him so convinced that Natsu was evil. Bad things happened when 'stupid' questions such as those were asked._

* * *

"_That's not good. Sasagawa, I'm guessing. The family name of one of Natsu's guardians it seems." said Reborn. "I'll see if anyone from that family has been killed within the last decade. It seems we've got a murderer around here, and if my suspicious are right, I'll find out why Natsu hates Tsuna so much so I can keep them from killing each by sorting this out."_

* * *

"_I shall be taking your brother with me, baka-Natsu. Also, before you go attempting to kill Tsuna again," Natsu stiffened, eyes widening. "I would like to see you in the living room after we are done. I have a few things to say to you about your past behavior."_

_Tsuna blinked, dumbstruck, at Reborn. Reborn was planning something, he could sense it._

"_H-how-," Natsu was surprised for a moment, then angry as he turned on Tsuna, his voice rising, "You! I thought you would have learned by now you useless, pathetic brother! You told him something! You – you spoke again, didn't your dame-Tsuna?!"_

_Fear made Tsuna flinch away. He was vulnerable, trapped in his near-empty room with Natsu blocking the doorway. That look was similar to the last one – but now It was unrestrained. A desperation of some sort was shown throw Natsu's face, and Tsuna knew exactly why._

_Natsu was afraid Tsuna had told Reborn why he had stared to punish and abuse Tsuna. The reason why he had become angry – and jealous – at Tsuna's innocence. Tsuna was just like Natsu's dead girlfriend – the one Tsuna had seen Natsu kill._

* * *

_Mukuro slammed the edge of the trident into Hibari's gut, sending the prefect smashing into the wall. "Drop the honorifics Tsunayoshi and I might consider it." said Mukuro, swinging his head to the side as he said it to avoid a flying tonfa coming his way. "The Japanese are fickle with names and I don't want mine to be ruined by such customs, don't you think skylark-san?" he sneered the last part at the prefect meaningfully taunting him with his use of pet names._

* * *

'_Isn't there some sort of catch?' wrote Tsuna._

_A sly smirk only graced Mukuro's face again. He put a hand out for Tsuna to grab. Tsuna let himself be pulled forward when he laid his hand in Mukuro's and heard the faint whisper near his ear as Mukuro pulled him close that was meant only for him to hear._

"_A sky without it's deceiving Mists is never as bright as it could be, wouldn't you say, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"_

_Tsuna flinched back, eyes glowing orange. A fierce look was placed on his face, making Mukuro's smirk widen and Nagi give a gasp of surprise. Tsuna knew exactly what Mukuro meant – Reborn had told him enough about Dying Will Flames and the guardians of Vongola._

"_I won't be a mafia boss, Mukuro, and I'll never be Vongola Decimo."_

* * *

_The hitman was only more concerned when he entered the house to find blood on the walls. It was Tsuna's blood, he was certain, and a lot of it. He ran to the bathroom, following the blood trail. The moment he saw the bloody, beaten up state the brunet was in he punched a hole through the door, a snarl rising from his lips and killing intent unleashed. _

_From the airport doors that opened for him, Iemitsu stepped out into Namimori and shuddered, getting a bad feeling. Bianchi's eyes widened, wondering what could make her lover so murderous. Hibari Kyouya grinned at the presence of a new carnivore and his uncle, Fon, spit-taked his tea when he felt his fellow Arcobaleno's rage. The pure feeling of emotion and wanting to murder something traveled through all the pacifiers, alerting the other Arcobaleno that someone had royally pissed off the world's number one hitman._

* * *

"_Stop running away you dame apprentice!"_

_The mentor lunged at the apprentice. The two fell to the ground with Tsuna pinned underneath Reborn, his hold tight on the man's fedora. He refused to let it go, but Reborn was persistent and pinned both his hands above his head with his left hand while he snatched his fedora away with his right. He snorted when Tsuna glared/pouted at him._

_Which was the scene Nana walked into when she entered her kitchen. Tsuna's eyes locked onto the wide-open mouthed look from his mother instantly as she dropped her grocery bags to the floor unintentionally. A shadow covered her eyes and Reborn was no stranger to know what their position looked like to the mother._

"_I…I'll just go…in the other room. I don't want to interrupt anything, ahaha…" spoke Nana before she stepped out of the kitchen._

_Tsuna's face burst into a deep red color, clearly embarrassed, while Reborn chuckled, putting his fedora back and releasing his hold on his apprentice._

* * *

_The Ninth sighed. "I see. Then I cannot order you to leave him, can I?"_

"_No." Reborn's voice was hard as steel and as sharp as a knife, allowing no complaints past. "You can't."_

"_And if I forcefully take him with me?"_

"_I would blow your mansion to bits." was Reborn's harsh retort._

* * *

"_I'll be waking you up early, so go back to sleep dame-Tsu-chan." Reborn said, snickering and making no effort to hide it. "Lucky for you your hyper intuition wakes you up right before I try to hit you with anything, so you'd better hope it works when I dump a piano on you."_

_W-what?!_

"_And don't have such a dumb look dame-Tsuna. You're cooking breakfast too."_

_R-Reborn! T-that's not f-fair!_

"_Too bad. Now go to bed like a good human."_

* * *

"_Chaos, I'm Reborn, the world's number one hitman."_

* * *

**Red - Chapter One**

His wrist was sprained again. Just by trying to lift himself up with his hands he found that a jolt of pain shot up his arm like fire and he slumped back down against the wall. With the little strength he had, all he could do was lean against the alley's wall and hope no-one came to beat him up again. He doubted he would be moving anytime soon. He didn't want to collapse in the road after all.

Tsuna looked up at the darkened sky and sighed. He was past curfew. Natsuhiko, otherwise known as Natsu-sama, by his fangirls, would likely hit him again for being late and forcing him to do the dishes. Natsu had put the curfew in place as an excuse to hide the fact that he wanted to know when and where Tsuna went and as such, Tsuna had to come home right after school. Natsu wasn't protective of him, per-say, just extremely controlling and obsessive.

He sighed again, letting his head drop and rest on the wall. His ribs hurt and he probably had a cracked rib somewhere. His arms, legs and stomach were bruised from being kicked when he had fallen to the ground after the bullies had started to play toss with him, pushing and shoving him around. His face hurt as well. He guessed from the pounding pain in his head that his headache was showing and the pain at his right eye that he had likely been kicked there too and was likely bruised. He also had a few cuts from the rough road when he had fallen, his hands and knees scrapped as well as the side of his face where he had been stepped on.

Silently wondering if things could get any worse, Tsuna closed his eyes. He knew it wasn't smart to sleep in an alley, but without gaining any of his strength he would be more useless than he already was. He figured he might as well sleep while he had the chance since he was sure when he got home there'd be a world of pain in for him that would injure him further than he already was.

It was at that moment however, when Tsuna's eyes closed, that he felt a hand coming around his mouth, covering it and any screams he might have released. Tsuna's eyes shot open, only to find himself staring into two red eyes, and let out a muffled whimper. He tried to push the red-eyed person away but with only one arm it didn't do much good and only landed a harsh smack to his head.

Dazed, Tsuna groaned in pain. Being hit in the head while having an ear-splitting headache did not work wonders with his thought process or his confused mind. His eyes quickly widened when he felt hot breath on his neck and he let out a squeak, squirming and trying to push himself further towards the wall in an attempt to get away.

It was futile, and both Tsuna and the red-eyed attacker knew it.

Fangs sunk deep into Tsuna's neck and he gasped at the sudden sensation of light-headedness. His arm dropped to his side and he felt his body becoming weaker as his blood unknowingly left his body. He blinked a few times, wondering why his vision was getting darker, but could find nothing besides the arms holding him against the warm body and the wall, trapping him.

Minutes seemed to pass by before the fangs finally withdrew from his neck, leaving Tsuna with lidded eyes staring at the man that had bit him and a body unable to properly move.

The brunet blinked when a hand ruffled his head and he scrunched up his nose as best he could, confused. Obviously he had been bitten by what was supposedly a vampire (and his new fatigue surely proved that yes, he had just lost a huge amount of blood after being beaten by his usual bullies and left in the alley) and yet said vampire was not running away, nor dragging Tsuna with him like Tsuna had thought supernatural creatures were supposed to do. Not take a bite out of their dinner and then just crouch in front of them in a dark alley and ruffle their hair with a smug look on their face as if they had found their new son.

No, Tsunayoshi would not stand for this – or sit for it, since he was unable to stand at the moment. Despite being bitten and feeling like a car had just run him over, he wasn't going to just let himself sit there while a vampire petted him. So the brunet jerked his head to the side away from the hand, hissing lowly as a he received a sharp burst of pain for the sudden movement, but felt relieved when the vampire took his hand away. Instead the red-eyed creature glared at him, the smug smirk wiped off his face as if he had just been mocked in some way.

Tsuna flinched as a hand rose into the air near his face. The vampire paused, then let a smirk come to his face again as Tsuna warily opened his eyes, looking fearfully not at the vampire but the hand raised in the air.

Usually whenever someone came near him it was to hurt him, and he had learned that Natsu usually slapped him whenever he did something wrong. He had automatically assumed that the vampire was about to do the same and had flinched.

"Oh?" came the word from the vampire's mouth, seemingly amused at the brunet's action.

Tsuna's eyes glanced away from the hand and to the vampire's face. He was sourly tempted to stick his tongue out at the red-eyed man. The brunet slowly drew his eyes away from the vampire's face when the man took back his hand and his eyes followed it instead until he found it in a safe position, far away from his face.

He let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, his shoulders sagging down. He closed his eyes for a moment, only wanting to sleep and for all the pain to go away, but it seemed the vampire wasn't satisfied with that for he snapped his fingers in front of Tsuna's face to keep him awake. An irritable expression passed over his face for a moment before it disappeared back into the knowing smirk.

Tsuna blinked questioningly at the vampire. Couldn't he just be left alone for once? Hadn't the vampire already taken his meal, so Tsuna naturally assumed that the vampire should be leaving to go back to whatever it was he was doing earlier?

"I'm curious. Usually my prey scream after I release them and try to get as far away as possible from me, and then I have to either knock them out or kill them and run, but you've done neither." said the vampire.

Attempting to shrug, but failing miserably, Tsuna shifted his feet, which were laid out in front of him. The vampire's eyes flicked down once before frowning.

"You're not injured that badly."

Tsuna's eye twitched. _That doesn't mean I don't feel like crap and my ribs aren't broken and I just had who-knows-how-much blood taken from me! Stupid vampire. If I could move I would._

The vampire reached forward and smacked Tsuna's head again, causing the brunet to wince in pain and bow his head forward slightly, eyes shut tightly as he waited for the pain to go away. When he opened his eyes, he found a glare pointed at him.

"I can hear your thoughts, _idiota._" he said. "So don't think just because you won't speak that I won't hit you for sarcastic comments."

Tsuna glared, but it looked more like a pout. He knew he should probably be scared, sitting completely venerable in an alley in front of a vampire. He knew he should probably be running now and ignore all of his pain, but he was too tired. Rather, Tsuna didn't care anymore. For all it could matter, he could die and he doubted his mother or brother would even care.

The vampire chuckled darkly. "You're interesting, human, so interesting that I'm going to take you with me. I haven't tasted blood as good as yours in years."

Eyes widening, Tsuna feebly tried to squirm away from the black-clad vampire as he was picked up bridal style. The movement irked his injuries and sent fire to his insides, but Tsuna didn't care as much as the fact that he was being picked up – kidnapped even – by a vampire of all things and being taken away from the place he had fallen.

Tsuna flinched, letting out a gasp of pain when the vampire put more pressure than needed on his ribs. He wasn't prepared for the large jump the vampire took to the rooftop of the building. He must have had a shocked expression because the vampire smirked down at him, amused yet again.

"Scream and I'll drop you," he warned.

The brunet nodded frantically, not wanting to be dropped from three stories up to end up a splatter of guts on the ground. He kept his mouth firmly shut when the vampire started to run across the rooftop, blending in with the shadows, and move towards a location that Tsuna didn't know. It didn't take long with the fast pace that the vampire was going at to end up in a very large gated mansion that the vampire cleared with an easy jump. He was quickly walking up the driveway and kicking the door open to the mansion open before slamming it shut with his foot.

The vampire then, carrying Tsuna, took a few turns after going up the stairs and a hallway to end up in front of two large double doors, which he opened, and then walked in. It was a bedroom, simple, with only a large four-poster bed, a door off to the side which he was sure was a bathroom, a desk on the far side of the room with a full-size mirror next to it and a balcony with curtains in front of it.

Tsuna didn't have long to observe the more detailed aspects of the room like the marble floor and tall ceilings before he was thrown ungracefully onto the bed, bringing a pained cry from his lips as his cracked ribs were shifted. His sprained wrist was quickly wrenched upwards at Tsuna's will, who had landed on it.

Tears gathered in Tsuna's eyes at the newfound pain and a new panic was beginning to seep into him. He had no idea what the vampire had planned for him, and he doubted it was anything good if he was going to stay injured and left to fend for himself against the man.

The vampire watched the pained expression on the brunet's face for a moment, standing near the bed. He waited as the chocolate-brown eyes passed from the wrist up to him and gave a cruel imitation of a smile with sharp fangs that had the brunet shuddering. Tsuna remembered those fangs sinking into his neck, and although the wound didn't nearly hurt as much as his cracked ribs did, it was painful and burned around the area. He was sure his neck was coated with blood from the way the wound hurt so much and from any indication of the red-stained sheets around his head.

Noticing that the vampire was reaching to the nightstand near the bed Tsuna watched curiously as the black-haired man opened a drawer and picked up a coil of bandages. He then approached Tsuna leaning over the bedside and roughly grabbing the human's shirt collar, tugging him forward.

Tsuna stared wide-eyed, wondering what the vampire was going to do. Surely not bite him again, and if not, then why treat his wounds. Tsuna was used to cleaning up his own cuts and bruises whenever his bullies came after him, though the broken bones were always the worst since he couldn't hide those from his mother, so he was able to treat himself properly.

He wasn't given much thought about the fact before Tsuna's shirt was ripped up over his shoulders and tugged off, leaving the brunet gaping. The vampire ignored this and only pressed his hands to Tsuna's stomach, testing for injuries, and immediately drawing Tsuna away from his embarrassment as the pain in his ribs intensified.

The vampire took his hands away and then, faster than Tsuna could blink, was wrapping the boy in bandages around his broken ribs. Not the most accurate treatment, but enough to tell Tsuna the vampire didn't want him to injure himself any further doing something stupid. Willingly lifting his chin up as the vampire lifted his hands to Tsuna's neck, he wrapped a few rolls around the bite wound as well. He then tossed the boy back his shirt, set the roll of bandages down on the nightstand, and stepped back.

Pressing a hand to the bandages around his neck, Tsuna looked curiously at the vampire. While the sensible part of him was screaming at him to run and get as far away as possible, the other part was telling him it would be much better if he stayed.

Tsuna decided to go with the latter, since the vampire had helped him with his injuries and carried him to a warm place to rest. He took his hand away from his neck and held it out towards the black-haired vampire with a small, innocent, sweet smile.

The vampire eyed it, looking suspicious. Tsuna's resolve wavered slightly as he saw the vampire was hesitant and attempted to scoot closer to the edge of the bed and stick his hand up further. It wasn't a common tradition to shake hands in Japan, seeing as that was acknowledging others as your equal and was something usually only business owners did. However, with his broken ribs, Tsuna wasn't in any condition to go bowing in greeting. Finally, the vampire took it, grasping Tsuna's small hand in his own, wondering what exactly he was doing.

'_Tsuna.' _the brunet mouthed the word, though no sound making it out of his lips. The vampire nodded, a small smirk appearing on his face as he replied,

"Chaos, Tsuna. I'm Reborn, the world's number one hitman."

'_And?' _mouthed Tsuna, taking his hand back from the handshake greeting. The smirk on Reborn's face widened, making a small chill go down Tsuna's spine. He could see the vampire's white fangs when he opened his mouth, just slightly longer than canine teeth. If Tsuna wasn't looking so closely he wouldn't notice.

"And, as you already know, a vampire." Reborn added.

Reborn grinned, showing off his fangs purposefully. "And you're my new servant, as I need blood every couple of days and it's annoying feeding off drunk people and orphans no one will miss when I've found you; whose blood tastes far better than any other person's I've ever drank recently."

Tsunayoshi had a feeling his life had just gotten a lot more complicated.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**Italics at beginning: from future chapters all the way back to the first. This is the first chapter I'll be posting of this story, and probably won't post for a while. I have 3/4 of this story written, I just need to type it up, which is the hard part. FYI this is not edited, so have fun with the grammar mistakes and awkward run-on sentences.**

**Also this story contains gore, violence, abuse, and a tiny bit of supernatural (only Reborn really, anyone else is human except for a select few) so if this is not your cup of tea, leave now. This is DARK. I'm warning you now. It is rated Teen for a reason.**


	2. Heir

**Red**

**Chapter Two**

When Tsuna found himself waking up the next morning, the sun was shining through the thin white curtains of the balcony. He was tucked underneath the covers of the bed he had taken occupation to and was wrapped up with bandages nearly every space visible. His arms, stomach, neck, and knees were covered with soft bandages that prevented the cuts from getting infected and for Tsuna to unfortunately not be able to scratch at their itchiness.

It didn't bother Tsuna that much, in fact, it made him rather happy, seeing as someone cared about him, even if it was the self-proclaimed world's number one hitman and a vampire that had done such a thing. A bright smile was on Tsuna's face as he slowly lifted the covers off himself, not wanting to damage himself further, and slipped off the bed.

His feet hit cold marble floor and he blinked, not remembering taking off his shoes, or getting underneath the covers for that matter, but brushed it off. A sudden thought of how Nana was going to fair when he got home made Tsuna shudder – and he didn't dare think of how his brother would be with all his pent up frustration on Tsuna not coming home at all, completely past curfew.

He wiped his wrist, the one that wasn't sprained, underneath his nose and absentmindedly stared at the door wondering what he should do. While his clothes were dirty and bloody from where Reborn had bit him, he didn't want to disturb his open wounds too soon by taking a shower or bath. As he stared at the door, trying to decide which direction to go, the brunet's stomach growled.

Tsuna sighed. _I don't think Reborn-san will have anything here to eat since he's a vampire. I wonder if he's like the ones in the movies where they're allergic to garlic. I wonder if he's bothered by the sun and doesn't sleep in this room? I guess I'll have to ask._

The door abruptly slammed open, hitting the wall with a bang and making the teen jump at the sudden noise. His eyes shot up to his visitor, who happened to be the very vampire that had bitten him last night.

Tsuna smiled as the fedora-wearing man stood in the doorway and glared at the human. The teen wasn't fazed in the least by the glare, used to getting such hateful looks from his bullies and brother whenever he had a happy look when he got higher than forty on a test in school.

"Why don't you speak?"

Tsuna's smile was cut short and flickered out for a moment, before Tsuna placed another firmly on his face as if not wanting himself to feel down and walked to Reborn's place at the door. He didn't answer the question, and instead, pointed to his stomach, looking up pleadingly at the vampire.

Reborn's eyes narrowed. "Dame-Tsuna, answer the question."

The brunet's shoulders spiked up at the nickname. He looked warily at Reborn, wondering if the vampire was a stalker or not, before getting smacked on the head again and reminded that the vampire could hear his thoughts. The vampire then walked away, pausing at the end of the hallway to wait for him.

He was quickly followed as Tsuna raced down the hallway after him, his growling stomach far more important than the common sense. He was following a vampire of all things, was basically kidnapped, and hadn't even asked if he could leave yet when that should have been his first question. Common sense be damned, Tsuna hadn't eaten since two days earlier since his brother had eaten his share of breakfast and the bullies had smashed his bento under their feet and well, he hadn't exactly gone home to eat dinner since meeting the vampire.

The two soon arrived in a large dining room, where Tsuna had to pause to gaze at all the glass chandeliers and nicely set table with enough chairs to feed an entire party of people. It was white, just like the rest of the house and the floor was the same marble as the bedroom floor was. No servants or maids were in sight, and Tsuna silently wondered if the hitman lived completely alone in such a big mansion. He'd at least have to have a lot of money to pay for a place so expensive, but then again a hitman was a job for killing people, but that was all Tsuna knew about it. He didn't think a job like that got so much money.

Perhaps it was because Reborn was much older than he looked, Tsuna guessed.

"_Idiota," _said Reborn, shoving the teen forward. "Move and stop staring like an idiot. I may be a vampire and near-immortal, but that doesn't mean I'm patient."

Giving a half-hearted nod, Tsuna walked forward with the vampire following just behind. Luckily the brunet didn't trip, much to his surprise, as he took a place at the table as Reborn instructed. The black-haired vampire then went off through another door and came back just two minutes later with a small plate.

He set the plate down in front of Tsuna. The brunet found the item out to be an omelet, steaming and most likely heated up in the microwave, or somehow inhumanly made with superhuman speeds which Tsuna was sure Reborn had. Nonetheless, Tsuna gave a grateful smile and ate the omelet in silence as the vampire watched to make sure Tsuna didn't do anything he didn't approve of.

Once he was finished, Tsuna pushed the plate a little further away from him and leaned back in the chair. He glanced at the other end of the table, fifteen or so chairs away, and then back at the seat he sat in. _Why does he need so many seats? I haven't seen anyone since I've gotten here besides him._

"Get up dame-Tsuna," said Reborn, grabbing the back of the boy's shirt collar and lifting the small boy up. Tsuna squeaked, flailing in the air, before he was dropped on the ground and landed on his butt. "I don't have much food here for you, and while I can eat human food I need blood every few days. Since you're so scrawny and weak-looking you're going to be eating more food now that I'm taking care of you. I can't have you getting sick and having your blood taste like crap. Also, I'm sure you have a lot of questions, so ask them now while I'm in a good mood. I'm leaving in thirty minutes for a job."

Tsuna frowned. _'Where are you going?'_

"To assassinate someone."

The brunet shuddered, not wanting to go further in the topic of Reborn's job and further. He pointed at the door of the dining room, where behind he had seen the entrance hall where the main doors to the outside of the house were. _'Can I leave?'_

"No." Reborn said simply. Tsuna winced, but shrugged as it didn't really matter. He was expecting that answer.

'_So I'll be staying here from now on? What about my family? And school?' _Tsuna asked, knowing that Reborn was highly accurate at reading lips. It was probably something he needed for his job, Tsuna guessed.

"I'll deal with that later." he said, then walked to the door exiting the dining room. "Don't try to leave, or you'll die by the bombs placed around the outside of the house. You already know where the kitchen is, over through that door. There's also a garden if you're interested in that. It's in the east wing of the house. I'll put a map of the house on your door before I leave."

'_For a vampire aren't you being a little bit too nice?'_

"I may be sadistic but that doesn't mean I don't want my food running away. I don't want you to go back crying to mommy about what you saw either, though that doesn't seem to be a problem since you won't talk. And by the way, dame-Tsuna, I'm fully aware that you can talk. Your throat isn't damaged as far as I can tell."

Tsuna looked away from the vampire, feeling forbidden memories come up. He shook his head, trying to get them away, and turned his head away from Reborn and back to the empty plate to stare at. He didn't look back at the hitman or his strange black eyes again. Reborn was annoyed by this reaction and his hand twitched towards his gun. Within a few seconds, a shot rang out and a bullet hole was in the middle of Tsuna's plate.

Tsuna looked shocked and he turned to look at the vampire and the gun he was holding. The brunet paled considerably and sunk lower into his chair, not wanting to be the next target of the gun, but not making a sound either. Reborn frowned again.

"So answer the question. Why don't you speak?"

Tsuna shook his head again.

"Do you want to be punished for not telling me? I can lock you up in that room if you'd like, rather than let you wander around freely. Would you like that better, _human_?" Reborn threatened, pointing his gun at Tsuna. "If you don't at least have it written down on paper by the time I get back they'll be hell to pay, got it?"

Nodding, Tsuna felt a slight fear rise up in him. By the tone of the vampire's voice and the gun he got aimed at him, he knew Reborn wasn't joking. There would surely be some sort of punishment if he refused to lay out his reasons why he didn't speak. Tsuna's reasons for not speaking were private. Telling them to a stranger, vampire or not, would be extremely embarrassing for him. Even though he feared for his life, Tsuna would rather keep his secrets with him until he was dead rather than die a coward and expose himself because of that fear.

As if sensing Tsuna's dishonesty, Reborn fired off another shot near him before turning away and walking out of the dining room. Tsuna looked after him, watching as the door shut and the black-haired man disappeared.

He knew he should be getting home, but Tsuna couldn't bring himself to try to step outside of the house. He doubted he would even if there weren't bombs placed around the house. The hits and kicks that were landed on his body, his ribs that hurt with every movement and his sprained wrist all reminded Tsuna of what became of him when he went back home and to school. He'd fall prey to the bullies, and most of all, his brother, who would tear him apart for being gone for so long. His brother was probably hoping he was dead, and happily sitting on his own bed watching TV while Tsuna remained in a vampire's mansion.

Naturally, it came down to two choices. Either Tsuna was going to be bitten to death, or beaten to death. Tsuna knew it was either become the vampire's blood bank or be beaten and kicked to the ground by his brother, and he didn't know which one was better.

_Well, _he thought, pushing himself up out of the chair. _I guess I'll go see that garden Reborn talked about._

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Tsuna woke up with a start, jumping slightly in alarm. His eyes met two red ones and he stared, his groggy mind not fully comprehending the situation. After a few seconds, he blinked, the realization that the vampire was casually _sitting _on him in the middle of the night for no reason, his eyes now a different color than they had been during the day.

Only, the vampire was different – smaller. As in, infant sized, in his tuxedo and all, with a little green animal on his fedora. Tsuna could only stare. He was not expecting his kidnapper of all things to have such problems with height.

"Stop staring, dame-Tsuna." the infant Reborn said, kicking him in the head. His voice was squeaky, and certainly not as dangerous sounding as it had in the morning. "I can only stay in my adult form for certain amounts of time, just enough to get the blood I need to survive. Most of the time you'll see me in this form, and the rest of the world only knows me in this form as well."

'_Even as a hitman?' _asked Tsuna, yet again no sound coming from his moving lips. Reborn's eyes seemed to darken at this, making Tsuna almost piss his pants as the similarity of the infant Reborn and adult Reborn hit him. He pulled the covers up to his face over his nose, feeling as if he had said something wrong.

"Yes." said Reborn, jumping up onto Tsuna's head of fluffy hair. "As due to the Arcobaleno curse, I, along with six others who were the most powerful in the world, were cursed to be infants. Due to my being a vampire, the curse seemed to not affect me as badly as the others, but they still don't know of me being able to retain my adult form."

Tsuna nodded. He didn't know what Arcobaleno meant, or who would supposedly want to curse the strongest seven but he did get the main point of the explanation. For whatever purpose someone wanted to gather the most powerful seven people in the world and curse them it must have been important.

Which meant, in the bigger part of things, Reborn was an extremely important person, since he was the number one hitman in the world. Which also meant Tsuna could die easily while anywhere within a hundred mile radius of the vampire.

"Now then, will you answer a few questions of mine?"

Tsuna nodded, not wanting to go against that deathly edged voice that would surely promise his untimely demise, whether it be by blood loss or being shot to death.

"How old are you?" asked Reborn. "And what is your name – your full name?"

'_Fourteen, Tsunayoshi.'_

"Full name, dame-Tsuna, or I'll shoot you."

Tsuna tilted his head up, trying to see if the baby was pointing his gun at him or not, but couldn't see and gun in sight. The infant-Reborn was using his hair as a pillow, laying back with his green animal partner curled up at his ankle, tongue sticking out of its tiny mouth.

'_Sawada Tsunayoshi.' _thought Tsuna, bringing his hand up and petting the small green creature.

The green creature licked his finger and Tsuna smiled. Only when Reborn yanked a strand of hair did Tsuna drop the smile and wince. Reborn dropped down into Tsuna's lap with the animal – a chameleon, Tsuna now saw, and looked at the brunet with narrowed eyes.

"Hmm, I thought you resembled Giotto." Reborn told him, bringing a confused look to Tsuna's face. "He's your ancestor. I know your father and I work with his famiglia. I thought I recognized you from the pictures he's shown at work but that was when you were six years old."

_You work with him? _Tsuna thought, not bothering to move his lips in the question anymore, too shocked to. If Reborn was a hitman, that meant his father wasn't a construction worker. _What does he do? And don't lie to me Reborn! Is he a hitman like you?_

"He works in the mafia." said Reborn, observing the look on Tsuna's face carefully. "He's part of the Vongola Famiglia as the boss of the CEDEF branch, which basically stands for External Advisors of the Family if you translate it to Japanese. I'm not part of the Vongola famiglia but I'm a hitman allied to them, which means I take jobs from them and other families as long as they aren't enemies of the Vongola.

"I was also annoyed to find out that your father was prancing around like an idiot screaming about how his precious 'tuna-fish' was gone." Reborn scowled. "He says that he would never be able to live without his, as I quote, 'my precious, innocent tuna-fish' and says that he could never live with himself if you died because you went missing."

_So you unintentionally kidnapped your boss' son? _Tsuna thought.

Reborn shrugged. "I only follow the Ninth's orders, not the drunken bastard's. I could care less if you're his son, as long as you don't somehow become the next heir to the family, but I doubt that'll happen seeing as someone would have to kill all four of the Ninth's sons. Plus, you have a twin, so the right might not even go to you, depending on whether or not you have Sky Flames and if you're the eldest."

'_Sky Flames?' _Tsuna asked, moving his lips with the thought of it. _What are those?_

"You really don't know, do you?" Reborn said, looking disappointed, but not at Tsuna. His red eyes seemed to stare at the brunet, creeping him out slightly. Tsuna hated Reborn's eyes when they were like that; they made him look far more dangerous even if he was in infant form.

Reborn had an irritated look on his face for a moment. "Every person has a flame, and there are seven flames in all. You, due to your heritage, should have Sky Flames, just as your twin should have. There are Sky flames, which are the rarest, Storm, Rain, Sun, Mist and Cloud flames. Only people with Sky Flames can be the boss of the Vongola famiglia. Each flame has a different color and different abilities. For me, with Sun Flames, I can heal people, which is ironic seeing as I'm a vampire and hitman. For Mist Flame users, they can create illusions to trick people, for example."

Tsuna nodded, understanding it a bit better than he had before. Looking at Reborn, he pointed to his sprained wrist, and then to his cracked ribs pointedly. Reborn glanced at him, eyeing where the brunet had pointed to, and then shook his head.

"I would heal you, but it drains my energy that I use to transform back into my adult form, which is the only way I can get blood from my victims – like you." Reborn pointed out. "And you'd try to run away if I healed you anyway. Since you have Sky Flames, your blood tastes better, and I'm not losing my only good-tasting blood source."

Tsuna looked down at the covers, away from Reborn's red eyes. He didn't know what to think. While Reborn was relatively nice, and had told him all the truth's he wanted he couldn't bring himself to say he wanted to stay.

'_I don't have any reason to go back. Father never comes home, my brother hates me and Mom just ignores me. You actually feed me and tell me what I want to know too, unlike Father, who always lied and favored Natsu over me.' _Tsuna said. _'Even though you bit me, and don't seem to care that much about me other than me being healthy for a food source...I-I don't want to leave. I have nowhere to go.'_

"Then what will you do here? I could fully well kill you, Tsunayoshi." said Reborn. "You seem to forget I'm a vampire. Caring for children isn't my thing – you'd have to go to school yourself and get your own food at the grocery store. You'd also have to be willing to give me blood at any time of the day. You'd also have to learn how to defend yourself, since I'm not letting you get beaten up by bullies and losing any more of your blood because you won't defend yourself."

Tsuna swallowed nervously. '_I-I-'_

"If you went to school again, you wouldn't be able to see any friends after school, since I'd have to pick you up and bring you back here. I'd also have to shake off any Vongola agents that try to find you as well whenever you step foot out of this house. When I'm on a job, you wouldn't be able to leave. You're a prisoner here dame-Tsuna, yet you don't seem to mind it, but will you when you see your brother at school talking about his loving mother, unable to go back to that house? If you agree to willingly stay here, I might let you visit and go out, but I won't let you escape. Otherwise, I'm just going to lock you up in this house and not let you leave."

'_Couldn't I just promise to come back here every few days instead of staying locked up here? Wouldn't Vongola be informed that I'm at school but not at my house? And Natsu would tell my mom that I'm at school.'_

"I'm not the world's greatest hitman for no reason, dame-Tsuna. I can easily dispose of any Vongola that come after you to take you back. From what I've heard from Iemitsu your mother accepts anything said to her, so you should just tell your brother to tell your mother you're hanging out at a friend's house. She'll believe that, and Iemitsu will support it since he doesn't want his perfect family act to be ruined."

'_Why do you have everything planned out so perfectly like you were expecting this?'_

"So, are you going to accept? I'd rather you not fight me when I take your blood."

'_Y-yes but can you bite me somewhere other than my neck?'_

Reborn's eyes narrowed. "Yes," he said slowly. "But it's a pain to do. Why, are you worried you'll be bullied for having a hickey?"

Tsuna shook his head frantically back and forth, covering his ears with both hands. A smug smirk came to Reborn's face and the infant jumped up to his head, petted it eerily similar to the time after he had bitten Tsuna and patted him on the head, and then jumped off him onto the floor. He headed to the door, about to leave, when Tsuna threw a pillow in his direction. Reborn easily dodged it.

Reborn shot a bullet near Tsuna's head, which hit the bedpost near his ear. He raised an eyebrow at the brunet, who ducked underneath the covers, embarrassed.

"Dame-Tsuna, throw something at me again and I'll be having you dodging bullets while you eat breakfast."

_That doesn't make any sense! _Tsuna thought. _I thought you were going to train me so I didn't get hurt and lose any blood! Wouldn't getting shot be the exact opposite of what you're trying to prevent?!_

"Don't argue with my logic dame-Tsuna."

_I'm thinking! You shouldn't even be able to read my expression right now let alone read my mind!_

"Shut up and go back to bed, dame-Tsu-chan."

Tsuna throw the covers off him and glared at the baby hitman, who looked at him smugly from his place at the door. _I'm not a girl!_

Reborn's green gun transformed back into the chameleon Tsuna had seen earlier and he lifted his hand up so the animal could climb back up to his fedora (so the vampire had a shape-shifting chameleon? Tsuna didn't think he could be surprised by anything anymore.) Reborn picked up the pillow Tsuna had thrown. Within seconds the pillow was sent flying back at Tsuna, hitting him in the face and causing him to smash the back of his head into the bedpost.

Tsuna groaned in pain, but didn't let any words out in his whimpers. He held the back of his head, curling up, hoping to make the pain go away faster. From his place at the door Reborn's smirk grew and his red eyes seemed to light with a mischievous glint.

"I'll be waking you up early, so go back to sleep dame-Tsu-chan." Reborn said, snickering and making no effort to hide it. "Lucky for you your hyper intuition wakes you up right before I try to hit you with anything, so you'd better hope it works when I dump a piano on you."

_W-what?!_

"And don't have such a dumb look dame-Tsuna. You're cooking breakfast too."

_R-Reborn! T-that's not f-fair!_

"Too bad. Now go to bed like a good human."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

_Three Months Later…_

* * *

So far, Tsuna had started school again, and each day after school finished he'd go to the back of the building as quickly as possible and would meet Reborn, who would pick him up and carry him off in his inhuman vampire speed. It worked quiet well, besides the fact that sometimes Reborn had to take longer than thirty minutes to reach the house when certain assassins or Vongola agents would be harder than usual to lose.

Reborn soon found that Tsunayoshi's very existence was a miracle, seeing as assassins came after him all the time. The hitman had to wonder how much of an idiot Iemitsu was, not giving his twin sons any protection. He hadn't seen a single watcher over the Sawada household when he had casually walked by.

It irked him more than ever, how stupid the man could be, especially when he would question Tsuna about what the man did when he was home and found that he would lay drunken on the couch like an idiot. If Iemitsu wasn't drunk, then he was feasting on Nana's food, and if it wasn't that, then he was inquiring about how Natsu was doing in sports. Iemitsu would praise the younger twin and would never once pay attention to Tsuna other than to ask the boy to grab him another drink.

Reborn was tempted to go right up to the CEDEF Headquarters and shoot the fool.

Yet he couldn't, because that would cause him to end up losing his money source and losing his life, no matter the fact that he was the number one hitman. Nobody made enemies of the Vongola and lived, and Reborn wasn't so keen on the fact of having the Ninth trying to freeze his ass for the next eight years like he heard the old man had done to Xanxus (and of course, he had never listened in on any meetings, because of course, he would never do such a thing since he was only a cute, innocent little baby to find that information.)

For the last two weeks, Reborn had been shooting at Tsuna whenever he saw the brunet and always kept on eye on him when he went out into the garden. He taught Tsuna how to load and handle a gun and shoot it properly, but the brunet heavily refused to actually use it other than in training. While in his baby form he would attempt to kick the brunet for the hell of it, just to see how strong the boy's hyper intuition was, among other surprise attacks which seemed to fail. When he actually tried to land a bullet in non-vital places, Tsuna would always dodge, albeit clumsily.

Now, three months after taking what Reborn called the 'bratty human' in, Reborn found himself in a bigger problem than hiding a missing Vongola kid and training such kid (that wasn't his apprentice, because the great Reborn would never admit to having an apprentice of all things, though rumors were somehow going around about it).

The Ninth's three sons were dead, and Reborn was called into his office along with Iemitsu for a private meeting.

"Reborn, Iemitsu," the Ninth regarded them as they both stepped into the room. "As you already know, my three sons are dead, and my other, well, I'd rather not speak of that. Now, I'm sure you know what this meeting is about?"

The baby hitman, with the Sun Pacifier around his neck, hopped up onto the table. Iemitsu trailed behind, sitting down on the chair opposite of Timoteo's. They were in the man's office that was thoroughly soundproofed and had more security measures than Reborn could care to find.

"Please, Ninth, not my Natsu! Anyone but my Natsu, I've already lost my dear tuna-fish! Surely you won't take my son away from me. They weren't supposed to know about that mafia!" Iemitsu blurted out before either Reborn and Timoteo could speak. "My tuna-fish is being kidnapped taken away from school each day and yet we can never find the person that takes him and you've already given up on him! I can't lose Natsuhiko too."

The hitman really tried not to laugh. He succeeded, but he couldn't help the smirk that came to his lips, which must have been misinterpreted by an angry father, who jumped out of his chair and growled at the baby.

"And you aren't going to torture my son either with your devil training!"

"Shut up and sit down, Iemitsu. You're acting like a little kid." said Reborn. "I don't torture people, I just tutor them." Then, in his cute, baby, innocent, works-every-time -face, "Wherever did you get the idea that a cute little baby like me would _ever_ torture _anyone_?"

Iemitsu, spluttering, tried to say something, but full words never made it out of his mouth. Giving up he slumped back into his chair and tried to look away from the hitman with a frustrated look on his face.

"So, Reborn?" Timoteo asked.

Reborn sighed, closing his onyx eyes, and then opened them as he finished his long, over-exaggerated sigh. He took his fedora and laid it down on the desk. Iemitsu and Timoteo, alarmed by this development, couldn't help but shift slightly in their seats uncomfortably. Reborn didn't just lay down his fedora for nothing, especially for a simple job request.

"I will not train Sawada Natsuhiko as the Vongola Decimo."

Reborn had probably just damned himself to hell, but he didn't care. From the way Tsuna 'spoke' of his twin's façade, which he had investigated himself and found it to be true, he wasn't up to the job of training the kid. He had seen the Sawada's interaction with each other at school when Natsu thought him and his brother were alone and it wasn't pretty.

Many times more than not Tsuna came back to the mansion with bruises and cuts that the vampire had to heal that his twin had caused. He had asked the brunet why he didn't fight back, and the only written response that had come back was the letters of, 'he's my brother'. It royally pissed Reborn off to no end. True, Tsuna was his food source, but he cared about his food source's health, and thus Tsuna was his priority and charge in a way.

Or at least, that was the excuse Reborn gave himself of why he was overly protective of his new Sky.

"Would you," the Ninth swallowed thickly, "explain why, then?"

Reborn raised his head to look at the old man. "But," Reborn continued. "if you find Sawada Tsunayoshi," Iemitsu drew a sharp intake of breath. "then I will train him to be Vongola Decimo."

"Why?" Iemitsu barked out. "What's wrong with my son that you'll only train my dear tuna-fish? If it must be them, then why not my son, the one who isn't missing, is good at sports, and isn't afraid to stand up for others? Unlike my tuna-fish who only sits in his room all day and gets bad grades? He has no motivation. Natsu is far more mature than my innocent tuna-fish anyways. Tsuna is too weak to become Vongola Decimo."

He really wanted to shoot Iemitsu then and there, but a sharp look from Timoteo held him back. Hand resting on the top of his fedora, Reborn pulled it down to shadow the anger in his eyes.

"First off, you call _Tsunayoshi _tuna-fish, and not once have you called him your son. Second, you praise Natsu like he's _kami-sama_," Reborn said, his voice holding an unhidden venom in it as he used the Japanese version of 'god' to get the point across to Iemitsu. "when you hardly know anything about both your sons besides what your wife has told you about them. I won't go training some stupid kid when I don't have any true information about them."

"Then why train Tsunayoshi?" asked Timoteo, his voice calm and collected despite his surprise over Reborn's refusal. Never in his most horrible nightmare did he imagine Reborn refusing to train Vongola's heir. It was an honor to – and he challenged them as well by saying he would train the twin that wasn't supposed to be Vongola Decimo – the one who was currently missing.

Reborn smirked. "Who else would be able to escape from both Lal Mirch and Colonello and not be seen?"

It clicked in place for the Ninth, for he tensed up and practically lost all composure.

Timoteo gave Reborn a hard stare. "It was you?"

"Unintentionally. He was hurt, so I took him to my house. Then he wouldn't leave." Reborn told him, telling half-truths. Hyper Intuition couldn't be fooled, but half-truths could escape its notice if Reborn was careful with his words.

"That can't be true." declared Iemitsu. "They both said that the figure was that of a man. It couldn't be you. You have no business with my tun-_son _either."

"I can show you, if that will convince you, but Tsunayoshi Sawada is the only son of yours I will train as Vongola Decimo. If you don't accept that, then you can get someone else to train Natsuhiko, but I'm still not giving Tsunayoshi back to you. He doesn't want to leave and I agree with his decision." Reborn told them. "Lal and Colonello can both confirm my adult appearance to you since they've seen it before the curse was put on us."

"Impossible." Timoteo whispered. "You're cursed. The entire mafia knows that the Arcobaleno curse can't be undone, and Verde's tried everything from what my resources have told me."

The hitman jumped off the desk onto the floor and Leon morphed into a gun. "If you so dare as to try to take him back, I'll shoot you." threatened Reborn. "He's got potential that I haven't seen in years and I won't lose my _apprentice_ for some snotty kid that's going to be named Vongola Decimo."

With those words said, the baby Reborn stalked out of the office without another word, leaving two men stunned, and confused at the state of the Sun Arcobaleno's new personality change. Unknown to Sawada Tsunayoshi, he acquired a promotion from 'bratty human' to 'apprentice', but didn't know it yet.

Reborn was always the best at bluffing.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**Since Reborn has lived for a very long time and is a vampire, his odd cross between his infant personality and adult personality comes through. He's not OOC, just a combination of his two selves (past and present). This was very interesting for me to create, considering the only time we see adult Reborn is three times.**

**Warnings for future chapters: **Spoilers for KHR manga.

.

Updates will slow around chapter 5, since I need to type up further chapters.

And yes, Natsu's personality changes drastically through the story as you might see...he goes from nasty (as all twin fics have Tsuna's twin as, though I have a reason for this) to something else.

Any questions you have may be answered if you PM me.


	3. Visitors

**Red**

**Chapter Three**

The first thing Tsuna did when getting up on a Saturday morning was dodge the plate thrown at him. He then rolled off his bed, dropped to the floor when a round of bullets came at him, and lunged for the door of his room just as a knife came flying like a dart at his stomach. Ripping the door open without mercy, Tsuna leaped out of his room and slammed the door shut. He heard the distinctive thump of the knife digging down into the door - successfully stopped in its tracks. Tsuna let out a small breath of relief, slumping down against the door, taking a few big breathes to get oxygen back into his lungs.

_Stupid Reborn, trying to add new things to kill me, how is this training?!_

"We've got visitors today, dame-Tsuna." said Reborn, stepping away from the shadows to just an inch away from the boy's feet. Tsuna tilted his head to show his questioning look and the baby Reborn smirked. "I've told the Ninth and Iemitsu you're here."

_W-what?_

"Thing is," he said far too casually, "the Ninth's sons were murdered and now he wants me to train your brother but I refused and said that if they found you, then I'd train you to be Vongola Decimo instead, or I wouldn't train the heir to Vongola at all and they'd have to find another person."

'_You're lying to them.' _Tsuna said with a knowing look to his eyes.

"Of course I am. Training you would mean being forced back to your house, and being constantly monitored by them. I don't want my entire personal life known." admonished the vampire. "Lal Mirch and Colonello are also coming. I'll let them know where you are, since they'll want to help assess you with the Ninth to see if you're good enough to be the Vongola Decimo. Before they never considered you as a candidate, but since I've taken an interest in you, the Ninth's going against Iemitsu's word and is going to consider you as one. Not that I would truly let you become the Vongola Decimo. I'd rather not lose my food to a bunch of old humans."

'_That last statement was a half lie, plus I'm beginning to think you're using that as an excuse to say you actually care where I go and what I do.' _said Tsuna with a roll of his eyes.

Reborn kicked Tsuna in the head. Since he was in his infant form, the kick didn't hurt as much as it had the night earlier when he had come in at two in the morning for a surprise attack, in his adult form no less. Tsuna had argued with him when Reborn had mentioned Tsuna needing to give him blood, the brunet saying to wait until at least morning, when Reborn's phone had gone off.

After being informed of the meeting Reborn had said something along the lines of, "I've been taking blood from other people on jobs and risking my identity just to wait for you to heal fully. Don't make me regret saving you, dame-Tsuna. If I had left you there, you would've died from the cold and rain and blood loss. You were more injured than you think, _idiota."_ and then he had left. Tsuna had gotten by that night relatively unharmed, yet in the morning he was woken up with a plate, bullets, and a knife, which meant Reborn was pretty pissed off.

Reborn scowled at the human. "Don't go getting the wrong idea dame-Tsuna. You're only here as my food source, not my apprentice and certainly not because I pity you – and I know you have that crybaby look on your face without looking at you. Don't be childish dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna pouted, eyes bringing on an orange tint. _'You train me and you treat me to three meals a day and let me go to school and everything though. The only thing that's bad about it is that you're a vampire and I'm locked up in this mansion half the day with nothing to do.'_

"Yet I'm a hitman and part of the mafia and you don't fear me." Reborn replied disdainfully, picking up one of Tsuna's feet and starting to walk, dragging the boy by his feet after him. "And I put you through my Spartan training and unlike my former student Dino Cavallone you haven't once tried to run away. Is it because you're scared that once I find you I'll kill you? Or," Reborn's voice turned to a catish hiss, his onyx eyes glinting knowingly. "is it because you're so desperate to find someone that will accept you? That you're too scared of going back to your abusive brother and ignorant mother who always compares you two?"

The small teen flinched. He let Reborn drag him without any fighting against him, already knowing he wouldn't win, and sighed. Tsuna closed his eyes and imagined what his life would have been like if his mother didn't compare him to Natsu all the time and called him things like, 'useless' and 'clumsy' and 'stupid'.

A sharp and sudden tug on his food made Tsuna snap his eyes open and tilt his head up to look at the baby Reborn.

'_Reborn?' _Tsuna moved his mouth to the name, a familiarity reaching him as he realized he had almost said the name aloud – something he hadn't done for years. A fearful thought of 'oh god I'm screwed' crossed his mind for only a second, but he quickly caught himself before the vampire noticed. He couldn't speak. Not after that incident where he swore to never speak again in fear of losing his life.

"Remember what I said last night dame-Tsuna? I've gone a few days since my last job and I'd like to stay living rather than die because you won't cooperate. If I bite you, it will hurt, but I can heal the mark afterwards with my Sun Flames."

'_Can you bite my wrist instead of my neck?' _Tsuna asked with a small grimace on his face. They both avoided talking about the subject of Reborn's bloodthirsty tendencies though they were always reminded of it when Reborn's eyes went red each night.

"Then I'll have to take blood from you the next day, since I won't get as much from the wrist as I would from the neck. It's also problematic for me and a pain to do." said Reborn. "Do you really want that?"

'_It's better than having my neck hurt and getting blood all over my clothes. I can pull back my sleeve when you bite my wrist.'_

"So you're scared of a little blood, dame-Tsuna?"

_N-no!_

"Really, dame-Tsu-chan? I'll make sure it won't hurt too badly. How you're a boy I'll never know."

_H-hey! I'm not a girl! So what if I'm short? A lot of other guys are short too._

"Not bothering to open your mouth anymore dame-Tsu-chan? I thought we had a understanding that you at least had to open your mouth to speak. I don't care if you got through life before without speaking, because when I'm done with you you'll be having full conversations with people. Not just with me either. And opening your mouth to at least try to speak is the first step of that."

'_B-but Reborn!'_

"No buts, dame-Tsu-chan. Now hurry up, we have guests to greet along with two other cursed babies to deal with."

Taking a step forward, Reborn left Tsuna t the top of the stairs and went on his merry way to the main entrance hall that was just around the corner. When Tsuna walked down those stairs, he knew he'd see his father again. He'd see the drunken bastard that only spoke to him to order him to get more beer and took the food that was supposed to be his at dinner. That man that now he knew was involved with the mafia of all things and had lied about it to his family. He never cared, as Tsuna saw it, about his wife's or his son's protection, and would never respect that man as his true father. All the assassins that Reborn had executed proved that. Hell, he had never believed in vampires before Reborn, but at least a vampire could be a better (though slightly sadistic) father without trying than Iemitsu ever did.

He must have been sitting too long thinking because a bullet struck the floor near one of Tsuna's feet. The brunet scrambled to his feet, pushing himself off the ground with his hand and quickly jumped to the stairs. Tsuna didn't want to get shot by a temperamental violent hitman when he had just escaped all his problems and had ended up with far bigger ones. He'd rather not have any bullets in him when he had to face Iemitsu.

Pulling up the poker face (read: HDWM face) that Reborn had taught him he took the first few steps down the stairs –and to his own personal hell.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

As Tsuna stepped down the stairs he heard the short last words of an enraged Iemitsu yelling, "-can't shoot at my innocent little tuna-fish-," and, "-you bastard Reborn!"

Tsuna, being Tsuna, was turning to flee by the last words his father said. The vampire, having different ideas, pointed his gun at the poor form of the brunet. Iemitsu's eyes flicked over, and his eyes widened. The other three watched impassively, though baring a different degree of grim looks on their faces as they saw the furious expression cross Iemitsu's face again as he glared at Reborn.

"Don't you dare run away now just because you've seen your good-for-nothing father, dame-Tsuna."

'_He's not my father,' _said Tsuna, his moving mouth yet silent. Lal, Timoteo and Colonello all watched without interrupting. They were all more interested in what Reborn had to say about keeping Iemitsu's son than the man's anger.

"Whether you like it or not, you're biologically related," said Reborn. "you can go pout about it in your room later, but right now I want you here so they know you're not an illusion."

Pouting, Tsuna sulked forward to Reborn's side and then sat down with his legs crossed on the floor. Reborn hopped into his lap with a content expression on his face.

"So this is Sawada Tsunayoshi?" Lal asked, eyes narrowed, surely meaning to intimidate Tsuna.

The brunet nodded.

"You can't talk?" Timoteo asked.

Tsuna opened his mouth to reply, since he knew the boss of Vongola could read his lips, but Reborn beat him to it. "Physically he's able to speak, but he refuses to. I haven't been able to scare a sound out of him since he arrived here."

'_Meany.' _mouthed Tsuna.

"Don't make me shoot you, you cheeky brat. We've got to go get more food for you anyways and it wouldn't look good to go walking down the street bleeding now would it?" replied Reborn. "You've got more training today since you've been slacking off too."

Tsuna's face fell. _'You threw a plate, bullets and a knife at me when I woke up and now you say more training?'_

"Of course. What mentor would I be if I didn't try to see if I could bypass your Hyper Intuition?"

'_A great one,' _said Tsuna, meaningfully sarcastic.

Reborn pointed the green gun at the boy yet again. "You have three seconds before I shoot and put my houses defense mechanisms in place, dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna blinked. Then, gaping, he was running across the room before Reborn could get to three. When Reborn got to two, Tsuna was pulling at the front door of the mansion, which was locked. At one, he was dashing back the way he came to find another escape exit.

A sharp whizzing sound stopped Tsuna in his tracks and on his Hyper Intuition alone he dodged the bullets coming towards him. Then he rolled out of the way of an oncoming falling piano, wondering where Reborn kept on getting those piano's in the first place.

"Reborn!" yelled Iemitsu. "Stop this at once! I don't give a damn if he's your student or apprentice – I forbid you from touching him!"

The baby hitman smirked. "Do you honestly think Tsuna will want to go back to an oblivious no-good father, and an ignorant mother who always compares him to his twin, and a brother that abuses him every day along with other bullies that break his ribs?" At this point, Reborn's eyes were shadowed dangerously by his fedora. "Tsunayoshi was malnourished and abused. So I took him away. I didn't know he was your kid until he told me. He's got potential that I won't let go to waste, Iemitsu. I'd rather use my time to train a mute boy than an arrogant one."

Timoteo was about to say a few wise words to persuade Reborn to stop antagonizing the Young Lion of the Vongola but stopped himself as the weight of the words reached him. Reborn didn't and wouldn't lie with facts like these. If Sawada Tsunayoshi was truly being abused and not fed to the point it caught Reborn's interests then Iemitsu was damned indeed.

Before Iemitsu could continue to spit out insults at the fedora-wearing hitman, he opened his mouth and said, "I believe you, Reborn. My Intuition tells me if you're lying, and you're telling the truth. But if that is so, why Tsunayoshi of all people?"

Reborn glanced at the brunet across the room, that was now being instructed by Lal and Colonello on how to properly dodge without so much effort exerted. The blue-haired baby was holding a pinecone in her hand and Tsuna looked to be taking in every order with a nod and observant eyes. Reborn smirked in approval.

"He had potential," said the hitman, tipping his fedora up. "and he also wishes to have friends, or someone that will accept him. I became that person. He accepts me, and my darker half of life, and I accept him and all of his dame tendencies."

Iemitsu was red in the face. He looked as if he was going to explode into bits of party ribbed dyed in red. The man was furious. The Ninth sighed, seeing how agitated his subordinate was, and knew that Iemitsu was just short of an angry outburst again.

"I see. Then I cannot persuade you to leave him, can I?" asked the Ninth.

"No." Reborn's voice was like steal, allowing no complaints past. "You cannot."

"And if I forcefully take him with me to the Vongola headquarters and order you to train Natsuhiko Sawada, who is picked as the candidate for Vongola Decimo by both Iemitsu and I?"

"I would blow your mansion to pieces. If you want him to be Vongola Decimo, then I will train him as a boss, but if you choose his twin, then I won't help you and you'll have to get another tutor. I may be the best hitman, but I wouldn't be able to guarantee Natsuhiko would survive. My anger goes to great lengths against the acts that boy has done, Ninth. People who hurt their own family are trash to me, be it a civilian or mafia member."

Timoteo's eyes narrowed slightly and the old man took on a look that was fit for the ninth boss of the Vongola famiglia. "What if you went to the Sawada house with Tsunayoshi and train both his brother and him, one as my heir and the other as your apprentice? Then you can _keep _Tsunayoshi, as you seem to want to do."

"No!" Iemitsu shouted, jumping forward and sending Reborn a step back to avoid being stepped on. It was both insulting and annoying to the Sun Arcobaleno when he was in his cursed infant form. "They'd have to fight for the rings!"

"We need Reborn, Iemitsu. Now get out of this conversation and go say hello to your son you haven't seen for three years." ordered Timoteo harshly, his eyes glinting in warning. Fuming, Iemitsu childishly stomped across the room halfway and walked the other half.

Lal was coaching Tsuna by throwing pinecones at him. Colonello was hiding behind the teen, telling him to move his hips rather than his entire body. Reborn made these observations easily with just a glance, and noted that the brunet would be hit by pinecone half the time and not hit the other half. Funny how Tsuna could dodge bullets, but not pinecones since his Hyper Intuition didn't claim it dangerous enough, and thus, wouldn't warn Tsuna. It was one of Tsuna's mistakes since the boy relied on his Hyper Intuition most of the time than his own skill.

"So?" Timoteo propted. "Would you be willing to train both of them?"

Smirking, the fedora-wearing baby held up one finger, casting away his pride he felt for his student - who was growing bit by bit each day. "On one condition, Vongola."

The old man's look sharpened. They didn't ever hear Reborn call a person by their famiglia's name unless he was going to kill them or ruin their lives forever. Either that, or Reborn was using his way of saying his alliance with Vongola was over if Timoteo made the wrong move. He raised an eyebrow in question, feeling that he was suddenly in a dangerous situation. It would not bode well if Reborn made their alliance void.

"You'll allow me to do whatever I wish with Tsunayoshi. Any training methods fit for my apprentice, any missions I want him to take, you'll allow me to put him to. You will also allow me to disappear for a few days at any week I choose and put off Natsuhiko's training during that time if I wish for a day or two. You will have no involvement in his actions and what I choose to do with him. The Vongola cannot touch him."

"A hitman can't be a boss, Reborn." warned Timoteo. "If he chooses to become Vongola Decimo and challenge Natsu, Vongola will fall."

"But a boss becomes a hitman." responded Reborn, his voice even with the Ninth's. Leon shifted to a gun at his owner will, sensing the emotion that the baby felt.

Timoteo's eyes flicked over the green gun. He knew the hitman wouldn't shoot him, but he was aware that Reborn would likely shoot Iemitsu the first chance he got. The dark shadow and frown that came across the baby's face proved that. He had already expressed his dislike for the CEDEF leader.

"Dame-Tsuna!"

Tsuna jumped to his feet - unintentionally dodging three pinecones at once. He peered curiously at the baby, his two temporary mentors pausing as well to look.

The hitman beckoned Tsuna over and the brunet obeyed, taking a curious Lal with him. Colonello and Iemitsu stayed behind, with the blonde Arcobaleno chucking pinecones at the CEDEF boss, who threw them back. Within no time they were playing a vicious game of pinecone war.

Tilting his head to the side in question, much as a dog did, Tsuna opened his mouth and his lips moved to form a, _'Yes?'_

"Do you want to go back to your mother's house, dame-Tsuna?" asked Reborn.

The brunet blinked in a way that casted his eyes orange. A flicker of dying will flame was sensed by the three closest people to Tsuna and they all noticed the orange glow to the teenager's eyes. Tsuna didn't understand what the hitman meant be that. He had specifically stated that he wouldn't let Tsuna go so Tsuna didn't understand why he would specifically ask Tsuna if he wanted to go back to his mother and twin's residence.

Seeing the look of confusion, Reborn gestured widely at Timoteo. "He wants to me to train your brother, and I told him I would, but only if you came with me so I can train you, among other things."

'_I don't want to go back.'_

"Surely you miss your mother and brother, Tsunayoshi-kun?" asked Timoteo.

The blue-haired baby jumped down from Tsuna's shoulder. She landed besides Reborn, who had a smug look coming to his face. Lal Mirch glanced at Reborn suspiciously before switching to look up at the boy in front of both cursed infants.

Lal must have seen the hesitation on Tsuna's face, because she said with a flat voice, "Or do you want to stay here, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Tsuna's eyes darted back from Reborn to Lal, hesitant and unwilling to speak. The teenager doubted the vampire would appreciate Tsuna revealing his secret for saying why he was afraid to leave.

A meal was what Tsuna was, and that was half the reason he couldn't leave. The other was the thought that Tsuna would be alone and beaten when he went back, again. He wouldn't be able to eat anymore because his brother would be there, and the only thing his mother would do would be to ignore him. She'd claim that Natsu was her little prodigy and that he hadn't any time to do chores because of sports so Tsuna was forced to do all of them. Each morning Tsuna would have to make Natsu's bed and miss breakfast because of it. He had to clean his brother's room and cook for Natsu when their mother was away.

So Tsuna didn't want to go back, but he didn't want to be taken away from his savoir in shining black armor either. The knowing look on Lal's face brought the realization to Tsuna's mind - two Arcobaleno were there, plus his father and the Ninth. The only thing that could convince Reborn to train Natsu would likely be to take Tsuna hostage (his 'apprentice' as Tsuna had heard Reborn comment in an earlier conversation).

A glare from Reborn stopped him from moving his jaw to mouth the one word answer.

"Reborn," said Timoteo in a low, threatening boss-like tone. "I believe Tsunayoshi needs to make the decision on his own. We all know you don't like Natsuhiko but surely you could straighten out his attitude if that is all you disagree with about him?"

"No, that's not all. If I told you the real reason why I don't want to train him, you'd likely try to kill me."

The brunet inclined his head to the black-clad infant. _Wouldn't telling them go against all you've done?_

The baby shrugged.

_Don't just change your mind!_

Reborn shrugged again, a small smirk on his face. He was enjoying the little moment of Tsuna's pouty face.

_Stop shrugging! _Tsuna thought, gritting his teeth and jumping forward. His shoulders were tense. Tsuna was almost sure Reborn was thinking something along the lines of, 'haha, but I'm only an innocent baby how could you ever accuse me of that?' like he always did when he used an excuse for his behavior.

In response to Tsuna's thoughts, Reborn shrugged again.

If Tsuna had been anyone else he might have yelled at Reborn for his indecisive behavior, but then again Tsuna wasn't normal and he didn't speak. Even if he wanted to speak, his voice wouldn't come out of his throat. It was like it was stuck, and whenever he tried to speak it always hurt. He could make small sounds, but not words.

Instead Tsuna spun around and made to stomp off. The brunet would have succeeded if not for the kick to his head. Surprisingly it wasn't as hard as the one he gave Tsuna during training earlier.

The brunet let out a groan of pain, holding his head with both hands. _'Reborn!'_ he mouthed the name while looking at the baby, glaring.

"Don't be such an indecisive apprentice, dame-Tsuna." said the vampire. "We have other things to do today, and if you don't help me with them you'll be facing a world full of pain."

Tsuna wanted to bang his head into the floor and curl up into a ball and curse the Spartan baby for his sadistic ways but wisely opted to stay silent and still. They both knew that the vampire was reminding Tsuna of his need of blood now that Tsuna was fully healed.

"Now that you're done with your internal talk, would you answer my question?" Lal barked out. "Will you stay or go? Both you and Reborn, because we need a heir to Vongola now, and Reborn's the best we've got and since you're somehow his apprentice no matter how weak you look, it's either both of you or none at all."

A look between Lal and Reborn sealed the decision. Tsuna nodded.

"Then it's settled." said Reborn. "We'll go and I'll train baka-Natsu."

"Didn't you say you'd show us your uncursed form, kora?!" shouted Colonello, flying over with his falcon and landing next to Lal. Iemitsu ran over to his boss' side, looking as if he had just ran through a field of bullets trying to kill him. He probably had, considering the rifle-bearing Rain Arcobaleno.

All eyes shot to the tiny hitman. Even Tsuna was curious to see if the onyx-eyed vampire would do what he promised. Breaking their cursed forms for the Arcobaleno was their number one priority most of the time. Reborn had explained the importance of this to Tsuna earlier and had named each of the Arcobaleno and their elements in case the ever knocked on the door when he wasn't there. Tsuna had quickly learned that it was nearly impossible to get into Reborn's mansion because the hitman had so many traps placed about.

"If I do that, it'll take a lot of energy and I'll have to go do what I was planning with dame-Tsuna earlier right after this since I won't be able to maintain my adult form for very long. Got that, dame-Tsuna? No complaints?"

For a second Tsuna almost pictured Reborn begging him to protest so he wouldn't have to use his vampire ability (or whatever it was) to transform. Tsuna hadn't seen Reborn transform into his adult form, only into his baby form. Reborn had told him how he did it though, and to Tsuna it seemed quite gross.

_No complaints. I want to get this over as fast as possible so Iemitsu can leave._

Tsuna got a smack on the back of his head for the thought. Wincing, he covered his head yet again and put pressure to the spot Reborn had kicked hoping to put a stop to the constant throbbing in his head. If he didn't know any better he'd compare his annoying Hyper Intuition's alarm signals to the pain of Reborn's kicks and confuse them.

"Don't get cocky with me dame-Tsuna or I'll force you to walk home from school." warned Reborn.

Tsuna shrugged, a wry grin on his face. Reborn resisted the urge to punch him, knowing that he could purposefully pay back Tsuna for it later when he took the kid's blood. Tsuna could be a little mischievous for a while, as long as his father was there, but once he left Tsuna would surely get his ass kicked by Reborn.

Timoteo chuckled. "You promised if I remember correctly, Reborn. To Iemitsu and I for being disrespectful and to Lal and Colonello because I'm sure they'll attempt to blackmail you if you don't."

Reborn smirked. Within the giant entry hall of his mansion the hitman's smirk seemed small, surrounded by a large room.

Tsuna was starting to wonder if the mansion really was Reborn's house that he lived in most of the time, or if it was his vacation house. Tsuna was guessing the latter, considering how it wouldn't be easy to hide yourself in a giant mansion since it was quite flashy.

"Alright," he said, pulling his thumb close to his face. The hitman let Leon, his chameleon, climb onto his finger. The chameleon then jumped onto the hitman's shoulder for a place he could easily balance himself.

Looking with a frown at Timoteo all the while, the cursed infant bit down on his finger. Tsuna saw a tiny drop of blood drip down the side of the hitman's hand and in a second, it changed. An adult Reborn stood before them, drawing his fangs away from the bitten hand, careful to hide them from view. He licked the drop of blood that had escaped down his hand in one quick movement.

Standing in front of them was a red-eyed Reborn, his smirk looking the devil's.

"A-amazing, kora!" shouted Colonello.

"I suppose the paranoid hitman was telling the truth." said Lal Mirch, taking a quote out of Luce's book. "Interesting, Reborn."

"Hmm." said Timoteo with a thoughtful look on his face. "This is surprising."

The only response from Iemitsu was a glare. Tsuna wasn't sure if the man was still holding a grudge against Reborn for kidnapping him and training him as his apprentice, as Reborn put it, or if it was because Reborn was going to intentionally set Tsuna and Natsu up to fight for the Vongola rings.

"Chaos," greeted an adult, red-eyed Reborn. "Ninth."

* * *

O0O0OxX...XxO0O0O


	4. Bloodlust

**Red**

**Chapter Four**

Two days passed by without any complaints from Tsuna. However Reborn quickly noticed that Tsuna stopped mouthing the words to him that he was going to speak and the boy had reverted to a more reserved state than he had before. Since they were required to move within a day, Reborn had ordered for Tsuna to pack up whatever he wanted and then had thrown a gun at him.

"Carry this around with you everywhere you go." Reborn had told him. "There's no knowing if the news of me having an apprentice has gotten out yet and I'm not going to risk you being killed because you're walking around defenseless."

Tsuna had accepted it and put it around his back pocket underneath his belt as his vampire-hitman mentor had instructed. The gun felt heavy to Tsuna, and he had no idea how he was going to carry it around school, and kami-sama forgive him if he ever left if out for Nana to find accidentally. Both his mother and Reborn would kill him for his foolishness.

The brunet also gained new knowledge of where Reborn could bite him and still make it painful. Tsuna also learned that he lost energy when Reborn bit him and drank his blood, feeling tired and exhausted afterwards. He had been so out of it the first time Tsuna hadn't noticed it, but now that he had been wide awake he certainly noticed the effects of the vampire's bite. Looking back on it he guessed that was probably a good thing, but either way it was troublesome. The hitman had taken blood from his wrist so Tsuna knew he would have to let the vampire bite his neck now that he would have to need a significant amount of blood the next day. It was bite his neck and go a few days to a week and a half or so without being bitten or let his wrist get blood sucked out of it and have to get bitten the next day.

When Tsuna finished packing he turned to find himself bumping into Reborn's chest. He squeaked, jumping back, only to be grabbed by two hands on his shoulders. He was thrown back onto the only bed in the room. The brunet flinched when he landed and laid for a few seconds, stunned at the sudden action.

A quick look to the vampire's face and red eyes told Tsuna he wasn't going anywhere. Scooting back as far as he could, Tsuna pressed himself up to the bedpost in hopes to get away from the hungry eyes of his watcher.

"Are you finished packing?" growled Reborn, knowing that the brunet had already done so, seeing as he hardly had anything to pack. Tsuna thought Reborn's voice sounded strained, as if he was trying to hold back some sort of anger, but Tsuna didn't think he had done anything wrong lately that would catch Reborn's attention besides tripping down stairs and knocking over a few expensive looking vases.

Tsuna nodded. His fingers twitched and the brunet realized that he was trembling out of fear, though why he had no idea. His Hyper Intuition almost seemed as if it had been cut off from him. He could sense nothing.

For what reason Reborn was so mad, Tsuna had no idea. He hoped the vampire wouldn't do what Tsuna thought he would. It would hurt him like hell and Tsuna wasn't looking forward to having blood drenching his clothes again. Reborn had informed him of how Tsuna's blood smelled, and tiny cut vs a large gash didn't matter to Reborn because he could smell it all.

Yet the old dame-Tsuna of middle school had come back and the small amount of courage Tsuna had in himself vanished when Reborn stepped forward. Now Tsuna was frozen in movement, cowering atop the bed sheets. It almost felt as if he was facing his brother again, fear coming off him in waves, knowing the beating that was to come.

Before Tsuna could blink he felt his neck being stabbed with sharp fangs. Pain shot through him and he whimpered; flaming pain worse than any broken rib he had received before. Tears dotted his eyes from the sheer fear he felt overwhelming him as he was shoved down into the bed and the fangs dived sharper into his neck. Similar to before, Tsuna's energy started to leave him as his blood drained out. His limbs grew heavier and stiff and he became light-headed, yet that didn't stop him from trying to push the vampire away. A hand slammed down on Tsuna's chest and he heard a snarl come from the vampire feasting on his blood, obviously displeased at the resistance.

The brunet's struggles weakened, as did his vision. Tsuna felt his arms hit the bed limply. A soft sound that was a whisper of a half-cry, half-whimper rose from his throat. Black spots outlined his eyes and it was getting worse by the second. By the last two times, Tsuna was sure Reborn had stopped by now. The burning sensation in Tsuna's neck didn't stop as the red-eyed vampire took more of the brunet's blood.

Terrified at the sudden feeling of pure helplessness, Tsuna tried once again to push the vampire off him. Finally Tsuna did the very last thing he had sworn not to do. Something that he was too afraid to do a week ago – even minutes ago. He spoke.

"Reborn!"

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0OO0

* * *

"Tsuna?" Reborn gasped, tearing himself away from the human. He knew he shouldn't have gone into the kid's room when he had a cut on his hand. Now he regretted it, seeing the tear-faced brunet beneath him.

Blood of the Vongola tasted far better than anyone else's – but Tsuna was like a one in a million. His flame, is Sky Flame, was pure. He was also a descendant of Giotto, who Reborn had an affiliation with way back a few centuries ago.

Now he had made a mistake. Tsuna was bleeding and Reborn could numbly feel the brunet's blood dripping off his chin. The vampire already knew he had taken too much of Tsuna's blood. While Reborn could lose almost every drop of blood in his body and survive as long as he got a blood supply right after, if a human only got a stab wound they could die from blood loss. The child (for he was far younger than Reborn mentally was, despite looking twenty-something) would be terrified of him now, and Reborn doubted that Tsuna would ever forgive him. One didn't just forget how someone almost killed them.

The only thing that had stopped Reborn was Tsuna's yell. Tsuna's voice, which had shocked Reborn enough to gather his common sense and push his bloodlust back far enough to see what he had done, had been heard. Reborn had tried to get Tsuna to speak before, even a scream of fright when ambushing him when he planned the teenager's wake up plan, but Tsuna had never spoken before now.

"Tsuna," said Reborn, well aware that he was acting unlike himself. "Forgive me, _mi apprendista." _

Bloodlust was a nasty thing for a vampire.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

His throat was sore.

Tsuna expected it, but that didn't change the fact that he wasn't going to be able to remove the bandages for a few days. When he peeked under them he found that the spot where his mentor had bit him was gone, but the area around where he had been bitten was bruised a dark shade of purple.

Sighing, Tsuna walked out of his room and down the long hallway, down the stairs, and into the dining room. He passed the dining room table and opened the kitchen door. He thought about how Reborn and he were supposed to go to his old home today where his mother was and let another sigh move past his lips.

_Where Natsuhiko is_, the silent thought was added.

The brunet trembled at the thought. The moment he stepped into the Sawada house, he'd fear for his life. There was no safety in that house. He'd be beaten half to death the moment this mother and Reborn left them alone, he was sure of it. No matter what Reborn said, he couldn't hurt his brother, not on accident and not in self-defense. He remembered all too well what happened last time he attempted to fight back. Tsuna had thought he was going to die, and in a way he had. His voice had left him and he hadn't dared step a centimeter out of line after that incident. Yet he had a more pressing problem besides going back to his former home. Reborn wasn't to be found anywhere, and now Tsuna was in the kitchen, hungry. Reborn was missing, and Tsuna felt that he had done something wrong again. It reminded Tsuna of when he had forgotten to go grocery shopping last week and Reborn had ignored him for the whole day after being forced to go out to do the shopping himself.

Tsuna wasn't mad at Reborn, or scared. The reason was fairly obvious by the way his left hand was covered with white bandages across his palm. Reborn had warned him what would happen if Tsuna injured himself in Reborn's presence.

"I don't care if you get hit or if you get a broken bone." Reborn had told him in his first week of training. "While I'm in my adult form don't get cut. Since I haven't had very much of your blood I'm not immune to it. If you were anyone else I wouldn't have to go through with this precaution but you have Giotto's blood in your veins and a pure Sky Flame. Your blood is the most wanted blood in the world by any standards, for both your heritage and how it tastes to vampires like me, but as far as I know there's only one other vampire living. So you only have to worry about me."

_I really should be more careful, _thought Tsuna, opening a cabinet. He pulled out a bag of rice from the numerous shelves and set it on the counter and then opened another cabinet above his head. Tsuna stood on his tips of his toes to reach the bowl on one of the higher shelves and then put it on the counter next to the bag of rice. Tsuna was about to turn to get a measuring cup to measure how much water to put in the bowl when he stopped, his Hyper Intuition going off.

Confused at the sudden alarm caused by his Hyper Intuition, Tsuna looked around the room. He dared not move if it was one of Reborn's motion censored traps that he placed in the kitchen (one of the largest pots on the highest shelf in the kitchen above Reborn's refrigerator had grenades in it and Tsuna had vowed to never open that cabinet again.)

_Maybe he's just messing with me? But that isn't like Reborn. An enemy of his then? _Tsuna looked up. _Nothing. Then where-!_ A hand wrapped around Tsuna's mouth, cutting off his oxygen. His heartbeat sped up considerably in panic as Tsuna was jolted backwards and slammed into what he assumed was his attacker's body. Thinking quickly, he slammed his head back in an attempt to thrown the attacker off him or loosen the grip on his mouth. The move failed miserably and only resulted in the painful act of getting a knife stabbed into his back by the intruder.

_The gun! _His Hyper Intuition screamed. _Back pocket!_

Tsuna jerked his body forward, giving him enough room to slip his hand around the handle of the gun Reborn had given him. He moved his hand forward and then pointed the gun and aimed it at where he correctly assumed his taller attacker's knee was.

_BANG!_

A grunt came from his attacker. Tsuna took his chance and gripped the gun tightly in his hand and elbowed the man in the ribs. He flung himself forward when the man stumbled back.

"Tsuna!" a shout came from his familiar mentor, who came running through the kitchen doors looking panicked as he realized someone had broken into his house - which they did. Within seconds the man that had tried to interfere with Tsuna's cooking process was dead with a bullet through his head, courtesy of the number one hitman Reborn.

"I smell blood." said Reborn, in his baby form, jumping up onto Tsuna's head.

_Mine? _Tsuna thought, blinking. He didn't feel anything. Frowning, Tsuna dropped the gun, a wave of dizziness – and numbness – hitting him. _R-Reborn_.

"Shit." said Reborn.

Reborn leaped off Tsuna's head as he crumpled to the ground and saw the cause almost immediately. The red blotch that was slowly spreading proved that Tsuna had been stabbed, and by the odd scent near the heart of the wound he could only assume that Tsuna had been poisoned. If not for his vampire sense of smell Reborn wouldn't have been able to identify that it was poison.

Summoning his Sun Flames, Reborn pressed his hands to the wound. He had already drained Tsuna of his blood two days ago. He had told the Ninth that Tsuna had been attacked and that they were going to need a few more days. The reality was that Reborn had spent nearly two hours trying to find the right blood donor for Tsuna so he wouldn't die since he could only heal wounds with his flames, not create something – blood – out of nothing.

"I go out grocery shopping and this is what happens? _Stupido apprendista." _Reborn said. "If your intuition goes off, trust it, Tsuna. If you hadn't shot him you'd of had your neck sliced right now."

Tsuna nodded, though his attention was on the stab wound that was slowly stitching itself up rather than looking at Reborn. Once the job was finished and the stab wound closed, Reborn was about to lecture his apprentice on how he should be more aware of his surrounding when he noticed something that made a smirk come onto his baby-like face.

'_What is it?'_ asked Tsuna, moving his mouth to the words as he always did. The expression on his face portrayed his confusion.

"Looks like you've got your first scar, dame-Tsuna."

'_What!?'_

"Don't have that stupid look on your face dame-Tsu-chan. Also," Reborn walked over to the counter next to the rice bag, and jumped onto it. "good job for using the gun I gave you."

Then, the tiny hitman jumped out the window and left Tsuna. Little did Tsuna know Reborn was leaving to find Trident Shamal, who could hopefully find a cure for his apprentice.

Tsuna lifted himself off the floor with the help of the edge of the counter. Sighing, he glanced once at the body, and then ran for the bathroom to barf out whatever food he held in his stomach. He doubted he'd ever get used to dead bodies (_corpses_, his mind whispered) near him.

* * *

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"It's time to go, dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna tensed. He still wasn't used to how Reborn could sneak up on him when he wasn't trying to tortur-tutor him.

"I assume you already know you're poisoned. I've called Shamal over to the Sawada house. You were asleep for two days, and during those two days I stayed at your house to start training baka-Natsu, as per the Ninth's request. He's already gained his first subordinate, Gokudera Hayato." Reborn informed him.

_Smoking Bob Hayato? _Thought Tsuna, thinking back to the research Reborn had forced on him. _But hasn't he betrayed every boss he's worked for? A lone wolf? Are you trying to get Natsu killed?_

"Maybe." said Reborn, seeming to not care. "Get up. I can tell just by looking at you that you're sick. A fever, trembling, and your eyes are flickering orange. Your flame is likely trying to fight it off. You'll probably lose your ability to walk in nine hours. In ten, you'll be paralyzed. In eleven, you'll go deaf and blind and you're body will think you're freezing. Then your system will shut down and you will die."

The brunet stood and made to walk to the door, where the hitman was standing, when a large sense of nausea hit him. Since he hadn't eaten anything for two days, nothing came up but blood. Tsuna fell to his knees, putting his hands over his mouth as he coughed. Blood splattered over his hands as it rose up his throat. Then Tsuna stopped altogether, eyes wide in what would be confusion, shock, and pain, and then went limp.

Reborn wanted to violently kill something right now for all the problems Tsuna was giving him. Tsuna was his charge, and if Tsuna died on his watch then he'd look bad. Plus he had his pride and a dead Tsuna was not on the list of things to accomplish.

Shifting into his adult form, Reborn picked up his apprentice bridal style. He knew he'd likely get a few strange looks. As he was the number one hitman carrying some kid bridal style, but it was better than having Tsuna die on him. He didn't mind of anyone managed to take pictures and if those pictures happened to get into the district of the underworld, well then he'd just destroy the entire power grid and erase all evidence of them. Either that or he could just shoot whoever looked at him in a way he didn't like.

So Reborn started off towards the Sawada household, vampire-speed style, taking his (self-proclaimed) apprentice with him.

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* * *

Wasting no time in knocking, Reborn kicked the door down. A loud bang sounded in the house and Reborn entered, kicking the door back shut with his left foot behind him (because pissing off Sawada Nana was not on his how-to-die list). Luckily it seemed Shamal had sent Nana away to get food or something because the woman wasn't present in the house.

"Shamal," Reborn practically snarled out the order, "get your ass down here. If he dies, you die."

From upstairs came two head poking out from Natsuhiko's room. One was Natsu himself, and the other was Gokudera. Both looked ready to piss themselves, although Natsu hid it with a small frown and attempted disinterested look. Neither had heard such a demanding or deep voice from Reborn.

"D-dame-Tsuna?" Natsu's voice seemed more shocked than angry at his 'missing' brother's appearance, no less carried in by an adult Reborn. "But I thought-,"

"Where the fuck is Shamal, baka-Natsu?" demanded Reborn, if only to stop the insult that would surely come from the blonde's mouth. "Unless he's blown to bits from a bomb I expect him to be here."

"D-downstairs, Reborn-san." whimpered out Gokudera, hiding behind Natsu. "He's still making some sort of new virus. H-he probably f-fell asleep."

Gokudera Hayato may have been temperamental and prideful, but when faced with an adult Reborn he knew better than to anger the hitman. He valued his life more than his reputation in such a situation.

"Not asleep! And not dying!" a louder voice shouted. Shamal flung himself through the kitchen doorway in record time, a syringe in hand. He overlooked the adult Reborn entirely and went to examining the brunet's state with a view only a professional had. A quick stab of the syringe and he let out a sigh of relief, backing away from the hitman and his apprentice, clearly nervous from his close call of life-or-death. "He'll be fine in a few hours. I underestimated the time it would take. Usually sky flame would react stronger-,"

"I haven't shot him with the Dying Will Bullet. He trains with his Hyper Intuition alone. I've seen signs of his flame, but it's never appeared on its own. The closest yet has been when he got stabbed earlier. He was calm and his eyes were orange. He didn't realize he was stabbed until I pointed it out."

"That's insane," Shamal remarked, then added, "for now just take him up to his room. Even with a sky flame's harmony element, he needs to rest."

"I intend to. If it wasn't for dame-Tsuna I wouldn't be here. You haven't heard half the things that happen in this house. When Tsuna wakes up I swear I'll kill Iemitsu - that fool."

Shamal took a long look at Reborn's face and shared a nervous look that Gokudera had practically mirrored on his face. His lips were drawn thin and he looked as if he was going to say something else, but took to better judgment and turned away, retreating back to the living room where his work space had been set up.

"I didn't know he could look so scary! I thought he was a baby, cursed like all the other Arcobaleno!" exclaimed Natsu, gripping Gokudera's shoulders and shaking him frantically, glancing between Gokudera's panicked face to the adult Reborn's smug one. "Why is he an adult now? You're my right hand and a genius! You should know!"

"I-I don't," said Gokudera, throwing his hands up in an 'I surrender' position. "I swear Juudaime."

Natsu let out a growl and shoved Gokudera away. "Useless," he spat.

Reborn reached the top of the stairs, carrying Tsuna in his arms, and glared at Natsu for his obvious disrespect for his subordinate. From the doorway of Natsu's room a petrified Gokudera watched as the tension in the house rose. The bomber hadn't known Reborn had connections with Natsu's lost twin, or that the twin was extremely ill and was in Reborn's (the world's greatest hitman!) care.

"Baka-Natsu," ordered Reborn. "go downstairs. Your brother here just got stabbed and poisoned. If I so much as hear a sound while Tsuna is sleeping, I'll kill you. _Both _of you, got it?"

"Yes!" Gokudera's answer was absolute, while Natsu's was more of an angry hiss.

Not wanting to execute Reborn's wrath, much like Shamal, they fled downstairs to the living room. It was unlike Gokudera and Natsu to run away, but the glare of an adult Reborn could make anyone run for their life.

The hitman took action and walked over to the door with a cardboard fish pinned up on it. He opened the door and walked over to the bed and laid his apprentice down, then sat down on the edge of the bed himself next to his apprentice's sleeping form. Reborn exhaled, pursing his lips as he did so, mimicking the movement off blowing smoke from a cigarette out of his mouth.

"Now I've failed you twice." murmured Reborn. "I'll have to check the house's traps again because of you, dame-Tsuna. _Stupido _human."

A small hand wound its fingers in between Reborn's catching the vampire's attention. Weak hazel eyes opened halfway and the fingers squeezed the hitman's hand softly. Tsuna's eyes met Reborn and he smiled.

"S-s-sorry." whispered Tsuna.

It was only a word spoken, but it made the hitman stare at the brunet. After the last syllable left Tsuna's lips he fell back into a deep slumber, his limp hand still around Reborn's. Reborn looked down at the petite fingers wrapped around his hand and frowned.

"Dammit," he said. "you speak the first word that isn't involved with saving your life and it's 'sorry'?" a scowl formed on Reborn's face in disapproval. "_No-bene Tsuna, _indeed."

Reborn waited for a few minutes to make sure Tsuna was actually asleep before he untangled the fingers clasped around his hand. He walked out of the room and shut the door to Tsuna's room as quietly as possible, considerate to Shamal's words that Tsuna needed rest.

Reborn reached up and tilted his fedora down in greeting to shadow his eyes and looked down upon the identical twin of Tsuna's, Sawada Natsuhiko.

"Why is dame-Tsuna here?" sneered Natsu. "Is he such a weakling he can't even survive one tiny stab wound?"

A fire of anger rose up in Reborn's chest but the hitman's face remained as unrevealing as ever. Resisting the urge to shoot the boy was getting more difficult by the second. While Reborn was rather detached from humans and their ways of 'second chances' and 'redeeming qualities', he knew when to not kill someone. Had it been anyone else than Tsuna's twin, Vongola Decimo to-be or not, he'd have killed them without giving a shit about the consequences.

Tsuna said he didn't want Natsu to die while in Reborn's care, so Reborn didn't care to let Tsuna's words waste away if he did so. He'd lived for a very long time, and knew at least how to be respectful. He hadn't only been a hitman in the past, after all.

Natsu was like an annoying bug that was under the protection of thousands of angry hornets. The moment he so much as pointed a gun at Natsu's head, Timoteo would freeze his ass into next year with his (pathetic) ice technique for daring to hurt the heir of Vongola. Even though Timoteo's ZPB ice was nothing compared to Giotto's, and Reborn probably could break out of it, he wasn't interested in getting the scars from it.

Being a vampire, Reborn could care less about the Vongola. He only liked his job because it gave him easy access to food and it was a fun hobby. He had chosen many jobs and different personalities to pick up in his past years as he always faked his death and made a new identity for himself, but being a hitman was by far the most gruesome, yet appetizing. Now he had found the needle in the haystack, and he was determined to keep it. Yet the stupid humans of Vongola though they could force him to train a heir he hated, which was just plain retarded in his opinion. Reborn had seen the scars on Tsuna's body to prove the boy was abused. People who abused and hurt their own family were trash and deserved to be killed.

If there was one thing Reborn couldn't understand about humans, it was their low esteem when it came to family ties, and how easily they could betray their blood just for a pretty piece of gold.

Reborn had no interest in Natsu.

He already had a good blood source and as such, Reborn had no other reason to stay. The only reason he'd trained Dino in the past was because it had been funny to watch him stumble around like an idiot.

Nana only saw Natsu as a copy of Iemitsu, her beloved husband. From the two days Reborn had stayed at their house while Tsuna was asleep due to the poison and testy blood transplants, he'd found out a lot about Sawada Nana and Sawada Natsuhiko. One being that Nana ignored Tsuna almost entirely. The second being she didn't like Natsu, or really a more accurate way Reborn could put it was that her odd way of coping with Iemitsu's loss was to see Natsu as her husband. She'd regularly call Natsu his father's name, and Natsu had seemed to give up trying to remind her he wasn't Iemitsu and in fact her son.

It was disgusting, especially when Reborn saw Natsu express how he felt about his brother right in front of somehow, like he wanted to show off just how useless and weak Tsuna was. It was as if it was some sort of contest to Natsu.

"I told you one sound and I'd kill you," threatened Reborn, glaring at the blonde twin in front of him. "don't make me follow through with that, baka-Natsu."

"I want to know why dame-Tsuna's here," demanded Natsu, glaring back unblinkingly.

"He's here because he's my apprentice," said Reborn with a tone of finality.

Reborn really needed to get some way of revenge against the little blonde twin. Training, he decided, would be that way. Nobody questioned Reborn – the number one hitman in the world – after all.

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* * *

It was a long while before Tsuna woke. A blurry memory was all he got when he tried to remember what had happened.

"Awake, dame-Tsuna?"

Unlike his old self, Tsuna didn't flinch. The voice meant safety to him - someone who would actually care about what happened to him and would watch over him, albeit violently. He wondered how that was true now that they were in the house that his twin lived in. Tsuna loved his brother, but sometimes love tried to kill you, and no matter how much he cared for Natsu he wouldn't die for that love. Tsuna had known for a long time that he had to do something about it. To face his brother, his twin, his family, to do something – _anything – _yet he couldn't bring himself to. Even if he ended up just like that night Reborn found him in the alley, he wouldn't give up. He had to live now that someone (mainly his vampire mentor who drank his blood weekly) relied on him.

So he let himself cry. Tsuna knew that the tears were the emotions he had held back for so long. From the house that had scars from slamming doors, creaking floorboards (from the blood that had loosened them), cracked and worn stairs (from stomping feet). They were anything but a happy family, Tsuna knew.

"Why don't you speak? You never answered me on that."

Tsuna answered with a cryptic smile.

"I'll make you speak a full sentence one day, dame-Tsuna." Reborn promised.

The brunet looked away from the hitman sadly. Even if he truly wished to speak, and his throat healed enough so, the fear that his brother would hear was too powerful. Tsuna was convinced that he'd die if he spoke. Talking showed Tsuna's freedom and his defiance, and Natsu hated that. Tsuna knew something that Natsu didn't want anyone else to discover, and because of that Tsuna had paid with his voice.

Tsuna remembered the day he lost his voice, having his drink tipped by the devil. It was painful and it was long and Tsuna hadn't spoken since – until the day the vampire that kidnapped him nearly killed him.

Both words that he spoke were in two different situations when he was dying. The fear of dying took over the fear of Natsu finding out. His throat had opened up and his fear wasn't of the consequences that he would be beaten to death but of whether or not he was going to bleed to death. (in the first situation where he had been attacked by a bloodthirsty Reborn.) then, when he had spoken the second time it was to justify all the troubles he had put Reborn through; getting stabbed, forcing Reborn to use his money to buy Tsuna food, and many other things.

However much he wished to speak, Tsuna couldn't. It was impossible. His fear that had been pounding in his chest, wishing for release was there, always, like chains of the broken rattling in his ears, warning him of things to come.

"Tsuna," said Reborn. "you will speak someday. A full sentence, willingly. Got it?"

Tsuna nodded, agreeing. Tsuna knew if he tried to go against Reborn bad things would happen, so he just gave in. He was more likely to survive without pianos dropping on him and bullets targeting him.

"Good." Reborn stood up and grabbed Tsuna. The hitman pulled the Vongola descendant up by his wrist. Tsuna stumbled forward, having been pulled out of bed so roughly. The brunet felt his mentor steady him before exiting the room with a few parting words.

"I'm going to go see what baka-Natu is doing. Make sure you don't die while I'm gone."

The brunet gave a snort, knowingly being sarcastic as if saying 'me? Get killed? Yeah right.' He waved goodbye all the same and watched his mentor leave.

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* * *

"Drop the fedora!"

"I'll shoot you, dame-Tsuna!"

"Do you want me to increase your training by two hours, dame-Tsuna?!"

"Stop jumping away you stupid apprentice!"

The mentor lunged at the apprentice. The two fell to the ground with Tsuna pinned underneath Reborn.

Which was the scene Nana walked into when she entered her kitchen. Tsuna's eyes locked onto the gaping-mouthed form of his mother instantly as she dropped her grocery bags on the floor. A shadow covered her eyes ominously and Reborn was no stranger to how their position looked with him trying to steal his fedora away from Tsuna.

"I…I'll just…go in the other room. I-I don't want to interrupt anything, do I?" spoke Nana before she stepped out of the kitchen. Tsuna's face burst into a deep red color, clearly embarrassed while Reborn chuckled, grabbing his fedora away from his apprentice's head.

Reborn got off the brunet and watched with a smug expression on his face as Tsuna glared at him, however to Reborn it looked more like a pout. The hitman morphed back into his infant form and hopped onto the dining room table.

"Going to yell at me now, dame-Tsu-chan?" chuckled the baby Reborn. "I'd love to see how well you play a girl-,"

Tsuna swatted the baby away with a hand, now on his feet. He was tempted to yell at Reborn for such a suggestive pose as he was in before his mother. Yet, he could see his twin from the corner of his eye at the stairs. Natsu was only waiting for the day when Tsuna screwed up so Natsu could have an excuse to kill him because for some reason he wouldn't do it without one (perhaps some weird moral thing, Tsuna guessed.)

Tsuna didn't like thinking about his brother.

"Just teasing dame-Tsuna, don't worry," said Reborn, hopping onto the brunet's head. "Now let's go see Maman."

_Maman?_

"She asked me to call her that. Don't go thinking I'll call you brother though. Your face tells it all dame-Tsuna."

_I don't have to call you Reborn-nii, do I?_

"For training, maybe. Normally, hmm, no."

'_For training?!' _Tsuna went pale. The smirk on Reborn's face promised him a world of pain if he disobeyed. Tsuna quickly shut his mouth and clenched his jaw. The small teenager walked out of the room with Reborn on his head. Once he got to the stairs, he assumed by the emptiness of the area that Natsu had fled back up to his room.

A small hand tugged on Tsuna's hair. "Walk, _apprendista._" said Reborn. "I haven't got all day. Unless you don't remember, I'm here to train baka-Natsu, along with the side job of having you as an apprentice of sorts. I won't tolerate such a weak blooded donor."

Having insults thrown at him by Reborn didn't secure Tsuna's turbulent feelings. He was still anxious of what was going to happen to him, and how this whole Vongola business was going to turn out.

Though Tsuna didn't agree with Natsuhiko's morals or ideas, he had no interest in the Vongola throne. Being a mafia boss was the perfect job for his deceiving actor of a brother. Tsuna wanted nothing to do with his father either, or to battle against his twin. Natsu was superior to him in every way except knowing how to fail.

Tsuna had lived with the hitman long enough to know he wasn't happy with being 'forced' to train Tsuna's twin. Reborn had no interest in it unless it benefitted his 'human blood for lunch' campaign. He was plotting something and Tsuna was sure that something involved him, his brother, and the Vongola.

_I don't want to be a mafia boss, _thought Tsuna, shaking his head in a disapproving way. He stepped up the stairs and went into his bedroom, but not before watching Reborn kick down Natsu's door and announce, "Training time, baka-Natsu!"

The brunet winced at the loud shriek that came from Natsu's room and shut his door to try to block out the sounds of Natsu's annoyed yells. He walked over to his bed and sighed, laying down on it.

From the look of things, Tsuna's twin had acquired his first guardian, Gokudera Hayato, the human bomb, as Reborn had once explained. Gokudera was highly unpredictable and had betrayed every famiglia he had been in, yet now he was acting like a loyal puppy to Natsu. It was only a matter of time before Natsu started planning something, as well as Reborn.

Tsuna sighed. _Time to face my past, I suppose..._

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* * *

Reborn was the devil.

It was the first conclusion Tsuna had come to once the baby had shoved him onto the front entryway of the Hibari house. Hibari had appeared almost immedaitly, and Tsuna was terrified for his life. Reborn had abandoned him.

"Herbivore," Hibari growled. "what are you doing on my property? Return to your home or be bitten to death."

"I would like to make a deal with you," said Reborn, making his presence known as he hopped onto Tsuna's left shoulder. Tsuna had to breathe out slowly to mask his relief that flooded himself. "A battle perhaps, Hibari Kyouya?"

"I don't fight herbivores, infant. Now leave." said Hibari, eyeing Tsuna with distaste and a glare. He stood firmly in his doorway, blocking Tsuna from seeing what the inside of the house looked like. It wasn't Tsuna himself, Tsuna realized, but Reborn's presence. From the way Hibari looked at them, it seemed he knew Reborn, or at least what Reborn's presence meant as an Arcobaleno.

"I assure you, my apprentice is no herbivore. He'll fight you and I promise it'll be interesting."

"He is weak." stated Hibari, narrowing his eyes and prepared to slam the door in their faces as he stepped back further into his house.

Tsuna couldn't refuse Reborn. He didn't speak, but it almost seemed as if Reborn was testing to see how far Tsuna would let it go before he tried to stop it. Tsuna knew he wouldn't let Reborn trick him into speaking however, even if it meant getting bitten to death by Hibari Kyouya.

"Ah, but I have personally trained him." said Reborn, gesturing to Tsuna. "Surely you'd like to fight someone who has been trained by this _Arcobaleno_, no?"

Hibari paused, his gaze flicking from Reborn to Tsuna. For a moment he looked about to refuse, but then opened his mouth again instead of shoving the door closed.

"Twelve, herbivore. Don't be late."

Then the door was shut. Reborn's all-knowing smirk was there and Tsuna couldn't help but want to yell at Reborn. He was going to die, Tsuna was sure. It seemed like everything these days was Reborn's fault, in Tsuna's mindset.

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**Updates will likely be delayed a day or two. I have it all written out, I just need to type the chapters up. Thanks for the support of this story. Also for those of you who are wondering, I stated in the warnings about there being "no pairings". This holds true. Reborn and Tsuna's relationship develops into a more father/son one than mentor/apprentice.**

**.**


	5. Dying Will Flame

**Red **

**Chapter Five**

Tsuna was running.

Reborn was chasing after him.

Gokudera Hayato and Sawada Natsuhiko watched; one scowling and the other smirking.

"Tsuna," warned Reborn as Leon changed into a green rope. "don't make me tie you up and drag you there."

The brunet shook his head, moving his arms to do an 'X' sign, showing that he refused. This only seemed to irritate Reborn more. Life was not in Tsuna's favor, it seemed. The two were only separated by about five feet, and Tsuna was certain of Reborn honestly tried he would get the rope tied around him.

"Too scared, dame-Tsuna?" Natsu sneered. The blonde walked forward and slung an arm around Tsuna's neck in what would have been a nice, brotherly gesture but to Tsuna, was extremely life threatening.

Tsuna flinched. Reborn didn't miss the other sign of discomfort as his self-proclaimed apprentice's eyes lit up with fear. Stopping Natsu would mean Reborn wouldn't get to see if his apprentice would fight back against his student. From what he had observed, Natsu seemed to greatly dislike Tsuna, and Tsuna's own mother was so ignorant in her grief that she'd forgotten to do anything with him, including making breakfast for him. It had happened just that morning (it was the weekend, so Reborn decided to follow Tsuna around rather than Natsu) and Tsuna had walked with bags underneath his eyes into the kitchen, had looked at the table, and walked out.

Reborn had dragged him back with Tsuna fighting him the entire way. Once in the kitchen the vampire had thrown him into one of the two empty seats across from Natsu and shoved his own plate in front of the mute boy.

Since Reborn could eat human food, but preferred blood much better, he didn't mind the brunet taking his food. Reborn didn't mind also because he planned on stealing Natsu's food anyways. Reborn kept an eye on Tsuna the whole time, whom only munched on his food. He picked at it without getting any of it actually down his throat. Reborn had grinded his teeth together and reminded Tsuna if he wanted to not get a few broken bones fighting against Hibari he should eat to get more energy, since he looked like the dead walking.

Thus, fast-forwarding to present time with the whole Hibari fiasco about to happen, Reborn was curious to see what his apprentice would do to Natsu. Either revert back to his old self where he would let himself get beaten up, or if he would defend himself with the hand-to-hand combat Reborn taught him.

Yet, Tsuna's heart was weak, not in the physical way but mentally and spiritually. Despite Natsu's abuse, Tsuna didn't have the will to hurt anyone he named family. Reborn could see it with the way he always hesitated when Reborn had trained him in those few months they were at Reborn's mansion-house. With Colonello however, the boy hadn't even flinched. No matter how hard Tsuna tried to think of Reborn or Natsu as an enemy, he couldn't - and would hesitate.

"Oh?" said Natsu. "Aren't you going to say anything to me? I'm your only brother so you can always confide in me, dame-Tsuna. I'm sure you can tell me why you're running away from Reborn. Maybe I could help you?"

Reborn really wanted to shoot Natsu. The blonde twin acted sweet but he was only trying to bait Tsuna into following his orders. Natsu was knowingly trying to get Tsuna to talk, which both Natsu and Tsuna knew was impossible because of how the brunet's throat was injured, which caused Tsuna to be unable speak from the trauma he had gone through.

The twins both knew that Natsu would injure Tsuna again because Tsuna wasn't supposed to speak (at least, in Natsu's book). Apparently speaking meant Tsuna had a chance to tell what Natsu had done to him over the years. It was forbidden to speak, and Tsuna was too scared from previous beatings to even try to tell someone about what Natsu did. No matter how strong Reborn was, he wouldn't be able to be by Tsuna's side very minute of the day. The hitman had other things to do, like looking for guardian candidates for example, and didn't have all the time in the world to watch over Tsuna.

Tsuna looked at his twin and gave a small, nervous smile. He'd play along with Natsu's game as long as Gokudera was there. He'd rather not get punched in the face and kicked to the ground the moment the green-eyed delinquent left.

The blonde patted his shoulder in what looked like an affectionate way, but it was only Tsuna that could see and fell the way the blonde dug his fingernails into Tsuna's shoulder.

Luckily, Reborn was on his side and Tsuna soon found himself sprawled on top of Natsu, his head pounding and his senses distorted for a few seconds. Natsu groaned; his face smashed into the ground with the baby hitman on top of him. Tsuna lifted himself off his twin, rubbing his hurt jaw that had been smashed into the pavement. On the sidelines, Gokudera yelling about his 'Juudiame's' health. Tsuna guessed that had something to do with the whole Vongola Decimo position Natsu was supposed to inherit.

"How dare you fall on Juudiame, you insolent copy!"

_Copy? He pulled me down with him when Reborn kicked him!_

Hayato came closer, but instead of doing anything hurtful to Tsuna, helped Natsu up as Reborn jumped off onto Tsuna's head. The Storm glared at Tsuna as he got to his feet himself and dusted himself off. Natsu stayed silent, opting to send hateful looks at Reborn instead of Tsuna. It was clear Natsu did not favor Reborn's training in any way.

"You've got a fight with Hibari Kyouya, dame-Tsuna. You'd best not be late. Of course, I'm only an innocent baby, so I don't know what this twelve o clock means on my watch."

Tsuna gaped. It was twelve o' clock. He had spent so much time running from Reborn he had completely forgotten what exactly he was trying to get out of in the first place.

_You knew all along! Hibari's gonna bite me to death if I'm late!_

"Oh," said Reborn. "and before you go running off you'd better take this."

The baby tossed Tsuna two black gloves with an oval in the middle of them. As soon as Tsuna caught them he gave Reborn a questioning look. The baby lowered his fedora to shadow his eyes.

"Leon was acting up when you were attacked with the poisoned knife. That's how I knew you were in trouble. Leon only does that when one of my students goes through a challenge of some sort." said Reborn. "They're yours, Tsuna."

_Aren't you coming with me? You're the one that wanted me to battle Hibari._

"I'll follow, but only after I remind baka-Natsu here of his training he's supposed to be doing right now."

Tsuna nodded, understanding that Reborn had a duty to train Natsu. Tsuna wasn't part of Reborn's job, and Iemitsu considered him too much of his 'little innocent tuna-fish' to name him Vongola Decimo. Thus, Reborn wasn't getting paid for Tsuna's learning. On the other hand, Reborn had forced Timoteo to consider Tsuna as a choice for Vongola Decimo since Reborn had started training him first. In the Ninth's eyes, that could only mean that Reborn had seen potential in him and had wanted to train Tsuna, while in reality Reborn just used that as an excuse to stay close to Tsuna to use him as a food source..

In the Underworld's eyes, Tsuna was close to Reborn, his 'apprentice', and of Vongola blood, which made him very much a prize if anyone got past Reborn to get to him. Even the Ninth was more interested in him than Natsu, however he hadn't seen what Tsuna could do and Reborn would tell nothing about Tsuna's abilities.

"Training time, baka-Natsu." Came the squeaky voice of Reborn. Natsu was hit on the head with a hammer. Natsu tried to land a clumsy kick on the Arcobaleno but failed miserably.

Tsuna sighed, looking at the direction that led to his school, where Hibari Kyouya the demon prefect of Namimori would be waiting.

A bullet landed near Tsuna's feet and the brunet almost screamed, shooting a dark look back at Reborn. The baby chuckled, finding the new attitude shown by his apprentice amusing. "Get going dame-Tsuna," ordered Reborn.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"You're late, herbivore," said Hibari. "Where is the infant?"

Tsuna looked doubtful. Surely Hibari didn't expect him to answer. Hibari frowned at him, his glare disappearing for a few seconds as he saw the brunet's gloves.

"Hand to hand combat?" Hibari acknowledged. "You are that mute herbivore? With that weak herbivore twin?"

Tsuna nodded.

"Hm," Hibari looked thoughtful for a moment, and then, "I'll bite you to death."

The carnivore lunged forward, swinging his tonfa at Tsuna, whose Hyper Intuition saved him at the last second. He ducked, but Hibari slammed his other tonfa down onto Tsuna's shoulder. Gasping, Tsuna brought a hand up to his shoulder, breathing hard as his breath had been knocked out of him. He barely rolled away in time to avoid another tonfa as it came down at his face. It barely touched the side of his cheek and Tsuna was sure he was going to die now. His shoulder burned in pain.

Tsuna only had a few seconds to get to his feet before he was pummeled down with another serious of attacks. With bruises all on his arms from attempting to block, Tsuna could feel them going numb. Hibari stood in front of him, ceasing the attack after a long few minutes of Tsuna only guarding himself. The brunet could practically feel the disappointment coming from the prefect.

He couldn't help but feeling a bit disappointed in himself as well. All of Reborn's training and yet Tsuna found himself too scared of getting hit to land an attack on Hibari. To lose against Hibari, who wasn't even trying to be serious.

"Herbivore."

Tsuna looked up at Hibari, his fists clenched together, biting his lip. He had failed. He wasn't _supposed_ to let down Reborn like this – if he just got even _one hit_ in – he'd be content with it. He would honestly regret it, letting Reborn down after all the three months of training he went through, only to find himself unable to fight.

Hibari blinked, a look of interest coming over his face for a split second. Tsuna didn't know why, but suddenly he felt warm. His hands were hot and Tsuna couldn't figure out why, but he had a feeling this was the Dying Will Reborn had talked about. It seemed his desperation, his will had pushed through. There weren't actual flames, Tsuna could see, but the gloves glowed an eerie orange color.

Hibari only had a second to jump back as Tsuna nearly landed a punch on him. The prefect smirked as he saw the determination in Tsuna's orange eyes. Tsuna could feel his exhaustion melt away, and energy seemed to fill him. Tsuna realized he was faster, also, as if his body was only a light feather instead of a heavy body.

"Wao." said Hibari. He could clearly see Tsuna's new state of existence, and a new opponent unleashed.

Now it was Hibari who was blocking and dodging. He sidestepped one punch and prepared to land a hit on Tsuna's head to end it but he was caught unprepared as his tonfa was grabbed. Hibari attempted to pull back but found himself unable to get his tonfa out of Tsuna's grip in the short few seconds it took Tsuna to kick him in the gut. Hibari grunted, eyes narrowed, and jumped away, letting go of his tonfa that Tsuna held onto.

Tsuna smiled, more at himself than at Hibari, and crumpled to the ground. Hibari lunged forward and caught him before his head could hit the ground. Then, he examined Tsuna's physical state to see if he had any serious injuries so he could make sure he didn't end up with a dead body on his school's grounds. The prefect quickly found Tsuna to be unconscious, and scowled.

"Omnivore..." said Hibari, giving Tsuna a new title. "Interesting."

Hibari stood up with Tsuna in his arms and looked at his discarded tonfas. He considered taking them with him, but knew it would be harder to carry the small omnivore if he did, so he left them and made his way to the Disciplinary Committee's office. He could always get Tetsuya to pick them up later. Once Hibari reached the office, he laid Tsuna on the couch near the middle of the room.

He had no interest in attempting to find the infant and convince him to carry the Sky wielder home. It was more effort than Hibari thought it was worth.

Hibari walked back to this desk, still scowling, and worked on clearing his stack of paperwork he had been trying to finish before the time of twelve had hit the clock. Even Hibari Kyouya was not exempt from the cruelty of paperwork.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Tsuna awoke to find himself staring at a white ceiling. He blinked a few times, feeling disorientated at the world spun. He remembered fighting Hibari, but didn't remember passing out. He had called on his will, and his flames had responded, but not fully. Reborn had said Tsuna would be able to use them at any time once he got enough training, but Tsuna was doubtful that would ever happen. He couldn't summon a flame even when facing Hibari.

The brunet quickly sat up to assess his surrounding, and paled when he realized he was in Hibari's office. _H-Hibari? _ Tsuna thought, seeing the prefect. Tsuna had figured that Hibari would just leave him alone once he lost, not take him into a demon's liar (aka Hibari Kyouya's territory).

"Omnivore," said Hibari. "come here every day after school. Be no later than five minutes after the bell rings."

_What? Is he ordering me to-_

Then Hibari put his eyes back down to his paperwork and left Tsuna to his thoughts. Tsuna could see Hibari had clearly lost interest in him in that moment – it was time to leave before Hibari decided to 'bite him to death' again. Once Tsuna was sure Hibari wasn't going to throw a tonfa at him, he slowly stood up and then bolted towards the door.

Retreat was a way of surviving, Tsuna decided. A tactical retreat, Reborn would say. Once out the door, Tsuna ran down the deserted halls as fast as possible. If he didn't get home before curfew, he'd be in danger of angering Natsu. Hopefully Reborn would be there so that he wouldn't have to clean the kitchen all by himself – that was what Tsuna's job was and why he had to be home so early, besides the fact that Natsu just wanted to keep on eye on him and not have him disappearing off at random times.

"If it isn't dame-Tsuna," a voice crooned.

Tsuna only had time to skid to a stop before he was gasping at the newfound pain in his nose. Wide-eyed, Tsuna looked up at the face of the bully he had nearly crashed into. Three upperclassmen surrounded him and Tsuna was trapped between them, the other two having come up from behind while Tsuna was distracted.

_Not again! It's like they know where I'm going before I go there. They shouldn't be here anyways, it's a Saturday. They must have seen me with Hibari and waited it out until I woke up..._

"Why don't you come entertain us, dame-Tsuna? Surely someone as small as you shouldn't be out here so late at night. It's already four o clock. You could get kidnapped – you look so much like a girl after all! We would be so worried if that happened, so why don't you just come quietly with us?"

_N-no...! I don't want this to happen again!_

Tsuna began to back away, but the two behind closed in and grabbed him from underneath his shoulders and heaved him up. Tsuna gasped, though more in pain at the sharp movement that jerked the shoulder Hibari had smashed with his tonfa earlier than surprise. His nose was bloody and he could taste the copper of it in his mouth.

Tsuna kicked his feet forward, but the bully in front of him was too far away and as they had said, Tsuna was short. The brunet clenched his jaw, knowing he'd get beaten up again. The bullies never seemed to rest, and by their gleeful grins Tsuna knew he'd likely get a few broken ribs again and tossed in another alley to die.

"Herbivores, what are you doing with the omnivore on school property? Voilence is not allowed."

_Yeah, _thought Tsuna. _Unless it's by you._

"O-oh, H-Hibari-san, uh, nothing. We promise! Really! We were just, uh, going to walk dame-Tsuna home, that's all." The first bully, the one Tsuna almost ran into said. The two grabbing onto Tsuna were tense, but didn't let go.

Hibari stared down the bullies. Quickly, Tsuna was released, but they still didn't move away. Tsuna's face fell as he realized Hibari wouldn't leave him alone, at least, not while he was on school property. Not only that, Hibari probably wanted to see what he would do now that he was apparently classified as an 'omnivore'. Either way, the bruises from Hibari's attack were already starting to hurt and Tsuna was in no condition to fight. Tsuna didn't want to hurt them, even if they deserved it. People always deserved to have a second chance, for someone to actually like them.

Tsuna hoped that one day Natsu would change, just like the bullies. Yet, Tsuna knew that was impossible. Natsu hated him and blamed him for his girlfriend's death in his weird way of coping with it, despite Tsuna having been at least ten feet away from the girl when she had fallen.

He didn't like to think about her, or Natsu. Bad memories would rise up, and Tsuna hated that.

While Hibari's stare was prolonged, clearly showing the prefect was ready to attack at the slightest movement forward, the bullies backed away, but not without dragging Tsuna with them. Hibari watched with narrowed eyes, clearly not believing what they had said, but making no move to stop them. He obviously expected Tsuna to do something, or at least wanted Tsuna to prove himself that the Sky element and orange eyes Tsuna had earlier wasn't a fluke.

However, Tsuna had no interest in attempting to use his flame again. He couldn't fully tap into its power, after all.

Tsuna knew he was going to get beaten up if he didn't do something, but he was also determined to not use his flame. He was exhausted from using it earlier, and had passed up for three hours because of it. The shoulder that Hibari had hit also felt like flame burned at it, and Tsuna wasn't sure what exactly was wrong with it. Tsuna guessed that it was dislocated, but couldn't be sure until he tried to move it.

Which he couldn't do because he was being dragged away by the back of his sweatshirt. Screw common sense, Tsuna wasn't about to get home late – Natsu was far worse than the bullies could ever be. If he got beaten up, he'd be slow to getting back to the house, which meant he'd break curfew. Which meant Natsu would do just the same as the bullies would again.

Tsuna exhaled, and then managed to push his fear away for just a few seconds. It was long enough. Tsuna could hear his heartbeat in his ear.

"H-Hibari-san." said Tsuna, his voice close to a whisper.

The bullies froze. Hibari's eyes moved to look at Tsuna, a smirk appearing on his face. While it might not have been what Hibari wanted, Tsuna was quickly reassured that Hibari would now save him with the 'interested' look on his face.

The grip on Tsuna's arm loosened as the bullies seemed to finally process who it was that had spoken. Tsuna pushed away from the one grabbing his arms, and a few steps more he locked eyes with the prefect. "P-please?" begged Tsuna. "H-Hibari-san?"

He didn't know why he spoke. Maybe it was to save himself, but if that was his sub consciousness' fault then Tsuna was pretty sure he was going crazy. Natsu would know. But he had already made the mistake. His fear came back full force, and Tsuna gave a sharp tug on the hem of his shirt to keep himself from breaking down crying. His knuckles turned white and his gaze briskly left Hibari's.

He regretted it immediately after the words left his mouth.

"Omnivore, you will explain or I will bite you to death."

Within two minutes the bullies were taken down with a tonfa to the head. Tsuna flinched as the bully nearest him was knocked out and when he opened his eyes Hibari was slipping his tonfas back into this sleeves. Surprisingly, Hibari only gave him a warning for loitering on school property, then reminded him to come to his office after school and left. Tsuna wasted no time in standing there dumbly and fled the scene.

He regretted it.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

On Monday, Tsuna avoided Natsu the entire day at school. He had even managed to avoid Hana, who usually helped tutor Tsuna, in fear of going to the class he shared with both her and Natsu. When the bell rang, he ran to the Disciplinary Committee's office and stopped for nothing. He made it in the door and shut it behind him, panting at the effort he gave to get there as fast as he could.

"Omnivore," Tsuna wondered how many times Hibari would insist on greeting him with that. He wasn't a pet. "will you explain why that herbivore brother of yours came here requesting to know where you were?"

_Oh no._

Hibari sat at his desk, the spinny chair turned to face Tsuna. Behind the prefect was his right-hand man, Kusakabe Tetsuya. He seemed rather intent on eating his leader than Tsuna, which the brunet was thankful for. The Disciplinary Committee was scary.

"I know you can speak, omnivore." said Hibari, glaring at him. "I'll bite you to death if you don't tell me."

Tsuna shook his head. Then, quickly, before the prefect could do what he promised, Tsuna took out a piece of paper and pencil from his bag and began to write.

'Natsu probably found out I spoke,' wrote Tsuna with a guilty look on his face as he held it up for Hibari to see. 'if he finds me, it'll be bad. I'm not supposed to speak.'

Hibari scowled, much like Tsuna had seen Gokudera do. A small amount of fear rose up in Tsuna's chest and he gripped the pencil tightly in his hand. First the bullies and now he had to deal with Hibari Kyouya, who was more likely to kill him than actually help.

"Go home, omnivore." ordered Hibari.

Tsuna blinked. That wasn't what he was expecting. _Go...home?_

Tsuna frowned, but did as he was told. Hibari wasn't the type to plan anything, but Tsuna didn't think he'd tell Tsuna to go home after learning about Tsuna ability to speak, so it was highly suspicious to Tsuna. Leaving the room, he walked through the halls, which were scarcely populated.

His Hyper Intuition was ringing like alarm bells.

Tsuna looked around, but found nothing. Again, he glanced around the hallway. He couldn't hear or see anyone near him. Shaking his head, Tsuna continued on down the hallway and out of the school. By the time he was in front of his house, opening the gate, he was getting an annoying headache. Tsuna was sure Natsu was going to be pissed, and that if they did end up fighting Tsuna wouldn't be able to fight back.

Reborn had trained him a little, but Tsuna still couldn't bring himself to hurt anyone.

He put his hand on the cold doorknob. The pounding of his headache gained from the warning of his Hyper Intuition got louder. He didn't know what to do, either listen to it or not. Tsuna could feel his heartbeat sending jolts through the tips of his fingers. As he opened the door, he could feel his knees get weak.

Tsuna wanted to cry when he saw Natsu sitting calmly at the bottom of the stairs. The pounding got louder. He bit his lip instead, not caring that it bled. Tsuna was silently reminded that Reborn probably had no idea Natsu had gotten information from the bullies about Tsuna talking, and was probably off somewhere else, thinking that Hibari was training him.

A quick glance at the shoes told Tsuna that neither his mother nor Gokudera were in the house presently. Reborn never took off his shoes at the front door, so the hitman could have been anywhere as far as Tsuna was concerned – which he was.

"I've been waiting for twenty minutes, dame-Tsuna," Natsu's voice was like steel, hard and unmoving. It was teasing however, enticing, meaning to draw Tsuna into a sense of false security. Tsuna felt himself trembling. "what took you so long?"

Natsu was calm – too calm, Tsuna knew. Natsu always got like that before he did something to Tsuna that wasn't exactly beneficial to Tsuna's own health. Fear rose up further, until it was all-consuming. Everything in Tsuna's body screamed run. He didn't want to die.

So he ran, straight into the kitchen, which was just beside the stairs. He got past the table before he felt his Hyper Intuition perk up and barely managed to duck under a chair thrown at him. He stumbled, and Natsu slammed into his back and then yanked on the back of Tsuna's jacket. Choked, Tsuna flailed, his panic taking control, and was easily dragged back and thrown onto the living room on the floor.

The harsh landing made Tsuna sure he was going to regret ever following Reborn's plot of 'go fight Hibari' even more. Technically, this was all Reborn's fault, so Tsuna was going to blame him if he ever came out of it alive.

A sharp kick was delivered to Tsuna's side and Tsuna bit his lip harder in attempt to not let out a scream. He didn't look up to see what Natsu would look like, for he already knew that a picture of fury would be the correct definition of what he'd see. He didn't want to see for fear of having it appear in his nightmares.

"How dare you, dame-Tsuna! You'll do what I tell you, and nothing else, including _not _pleading Hibari Kyouya for help just because you're scared of a few upperclassmen." snarled Natsu, grabbing Tsuna by his hair and dragging him to the stairs. Tsuna cried and tried to get Natsu to let go as he grabbed onto Natsu's wrist and clawed at him but it was useless. "Don't you get it, dame-Tsuna? If you tell anyone about what you saw, I'll have to kill you, so it's better you just don't speak at all. I don't want to have to do that, after all."

A hand at the back of Tsuna's head slammed him forward and his nose that was just healed from the bullies Tsuna had run into a few days ago burst and cracked. Tsuna let out a pained cry and tried to shove Natsu away, blood streaming down his face. Natsu's furious expression melted into a grin, obviously happy with Tsuna's current state and grabbed hold of him again. Tsuna was pulled up the stairs by his hair, and all he could do was claw at Natsu's wrists and struggle, which wasn't enough to get Natsu away from him at all considering his weak state.

Natsu wrenched open the door to Tsuna's rom and slammed it shut after he had thrown Tsuna across the floor away from the door. Tsuna groaned, his vision going dark with black spots from the shock of being slammed into the stairs and dizziness.

"Why do you even try, dame-Tsuna? Don't you know it's your fault she died? Why do you try to fight against me so much when it's only right you take the blame for her death?" Natsu said. He was clearly mocking Tsuna was a fake tone of niceness and a pat on the shoulder.

_N-no...no, no, no, no! It wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault. It wasn't. It wasn't. _Tsuna repeated to himself. He couldn't let Natsu convince him of it. _She let go of him. It's her fault. Her fault she fell, not mine._

A gasp left Tsuna's throat as a hard kick to hit side gave him a broken rib. The sound of it filled Tsuna's head and he let out a muffled scream; his hand covering his mouth. Blood splattered the floor as he coughed and lay silently on his side. He didn't have the energy to get up.

So Tsuna tried to crawl away, rather pitifully, and Natsu laughed. Tsuna barely made it to the edge of his bed and backed up into a corner before his rib reminded him that it wasn't happy and sent lightning shooting through Tsuna's side and stomach. Blood rose in his throat.

"Maybe I should make it so you can never speak again, dame-Tsuna. How about that?" suggested Natsu. "Then you won't be able to tell anyone, and you'll be able to be in my care forever since no one will want to take care of a stupid mute."

"Ah," Natsu sighed, gesturing dramatically with both arms in an 'I don't know' position, looking at Tsuna. "but that's right, I don't need your opinion. Because you're _mine._ You're just a _weak _little copy of me that can't even defend himself, and you know me. I hate weak people, because weak people always die."

Tsuna coughed again, and looked up at Natsu. "J-just like she w-was, h-huh N-Natsu?" he murmured. "B-because she d-died because she was w-weak, t-that's what you think, r-right?"

Natsu's eyes narrowed in anger. "It's your fault, dame-Tsuna. Or should I say Tsuna-nii? After all, its only respectful."

Tsuna only wanted to get away. His twin's words stung, but he could deal with it. Kyoko wasn't his fault. She had died on that bridge that day on pure coincidence when the railing broke and she was sent plummeting down. Natsu had caught her, but she hadn't wanted to pull him down with her, so she had let go of him, and had fallen to her death.

Natsu had never forgiven Tsuna for not helping pull Kyoko up. Tsuna hadn't entirely forgiven himself either, but for different reasons.

It appeared to Tsuna that Natsu wasn't done, because a punch was landed on his face and he fell back to the floor, only having managed to get up into a sitting position against the wall earlier. Tsuna breathed harshly, his lungs giving in to the panic. Tsuna wasn't prepared for when Natsu pinned him down however, or for the knife that Tsuna found had appeared in Natsu's hand.

Tsuna immediately started to struggle when he realized what intent Natsu had. Tsuna grabbed Natsu's wrist and his other hand when he put the knife forward, but lost his focus when Natsu kneed him in his ribs, causing a whole new world of pain to travel through Tsuna. Tsuna whimpered when Natsu managed to pin both his hands.

The knife was moved across his neck, shallow at first, and then further with more pressure. Pain blossomed in Tsuna's neck as the wound got deeper.

"N-no..." Tsuna whispered, wincing. He couldn't remember ever talking this much before, even when getting beaten – but the look in Natsu's eyes was different. He was angry, and it was most likely because Reborn had entered the picture and was watching over Tsuna, which had become a threat to Natsu's tightly-woven thread of lies.

The knife paused and Natsu sneered at him. "Any last words, dame-Tsuna?"

This is where Reborn would pop in, most likely saying, "Fuck you." Alas, it wasn't meant to be, and Tsuna was alone with his twin with a broken nose and a few broken ribs and a headache larger than he cared to have and an aching shoulder. Plus Tsuna was about five seconds away from getting his throat slashed. Perhaps talking wasn't the best things after all, Tsuna considered. He had gotten his confidence back while with Reborn, yet now he was terrified for his life.

He knew exactly what Natsu would do to keep his secret.

Tsuna looked at Natsu with pleading eyes, but Natsu wasn't affected in the least. He only snorted in distaste and quickly broke open Tsuna's throat with his knife. It was burning hot, pressed against Tsuna's skin. Tsuna tried to breath, but everything was losing focus and all he could focus on was the light amber of Natsu's eyes as he stood up and walked away, leaving Tsuna to die.

Blood quickly pooled around Tsuna. The brunet felt extremely weak, and he wanted to cry and sob and scream but he couldn't because even breathing hurt. For some reason, it reminded him of the time Reborn had most violently bitten him, except he wasn't exactly in direct danger of dying then. This time there wasn't anyone to save him. Reborn wasn't there to snap at Natsu and shoot him. Gokudera was off somewhere else, and though he didn't like Tsuna, Tsuna was sure he'd have at least stopped Natsu. Nana had disappeared, like she always did.

Tsuna didn't want to die, not like this.

He'd regret being able to prove to Natsu that he wasn't weak, he'd regret not being gable to make any friends, he'd regret not being able to tell his mother the truth about Iemitsu's job, no matter how much she ignored his existence, he'd regret being scared all his life, unable to live normally because of his twin, and he'd regret not being able to repay Reborn back for all that he'd done. Most of all, he'd regret dying not on his own terms.

Tsuna refused to die like a dog. He would die on his own terms, in his own way, and not by some bleeding cut on his neck that was quickly killing him. Suddenly, Tsuna found himself putting a hand over his neck, stopping the flow of blood feebly. He willed himself to move – to do anything – and crawled to his bedside. Within a few tries, Tsuna managed to pull himself up with the help of his bedpost and make his way to the door of his room.

A trail of bloody handprints on the wall followed behind him as he slowly walked to the bathroom, leaning heavily on the wall. He didn't care about anything else than stopping himself from dying. His head hurt, and his side, but that pain was nothing compared to the icy burn of the cut on his neck where he was losing his precious life blood.

Finally after what seemed hours to Tsuna, he reached the bathroom. He fell to his knees as ungracefully as one could do and coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. It welled up in his throat, blocking his air, and he could barely breath without coughing. Luckily the knife cut had been only at the front, and hadn't severed one of the big arteries, so Tsuna figured he was doing alright for almost dying.

"Ngh," Tsuna weakly reached for the first aid kit in the bathroom, and ripped it open to find a medical pad. He pressed it over his neck, and the stinging sensation subsided a tiny bit, but the icy cold pain didn't. He groaned, feeling his eyes start to close.

_No, I can't die here. I can't fall asleep. I can't die. I won't die. I won't._

Then, a warmth filled Tsuna, and, while bleeding out, a Sky Flame appeared on Tsuna's head and flickered in tiny wisps at his hands. It wasn't strong, but it was enough for Tsuna to focus on staying away as he focused on the warmth of it. Blood covered his school uniform and the bathroom floor and Tsuna didn't care to look to see how much he had lost. He could feel it and that was warning enough.

_Stay awake, _sneered Natsu's voice in his mind, mockingly. _I'll only get the chance to do this to you again after all, dame-Tsuna. What's the worth in living then, twin?_

_No...no...I won't give in to you! I won't..._

Tsuna's vision went dark. His breathing slowed.

_No..._

Warmth covered him, but not his own Sky flames. His vision was blurry when Tsuna opened his eyes – he didn't remember allowing them to shut – but the familiarity of the Sun flames made him think of Reborn. A small smile made it to his face as his neck was put back together in one piece.

Tsuna lifted his gaze to look up at the blurry figure of Reborn. He was sure the vampire-hitman was saying something, but he couldn't hear it. He couldn't hear anything, not even his own breathing. Then, his Sky flame withered and died, and Tsuna closed his eyes and gave into the darkness.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O


	6. Recovery

**Red**

**Chapter Six**

"Shit." Was the first thing that came out of Reborn's mouth when he smelled Tsuna's blood from his position in Namimori park. He was in his baby form, consulting Bianchi about her assassination of Natsu when he realized it.

"What is it, Reborn?" asked Bianchi, clasping her hands together and smiling at him. While she knew not to annoy him too much since usually he'd just casually run away from her anytime she did so, she also knew that Reborn hadn't hit his limit yet while talking to her. She didn't expect him to suddenly leap out of her arms and onto the ground.

She had attempted to assassinate Natsu when the boy had walked out of the house with a pizza box, but Reborn had stopped her. He had just been telling Bianchi not to kill the smaller brunet twin lest he be forced to kill her. Bianchi had taken his words to heart and decided to not kill the twins since Tsuna was under Reborn's protection and Natsu had taken in her dear brother Hayato.

"I'm needed for urgent business, Bianchi. See you later." said Reborn. "Perhaps you'd like to find Natsu for me, while I'm away?"

"Find the blondie?" Bianchi grinned. "I guess so."

Then, Reborn was gone. Hopping over the top of buildings was easy in his infant form. The hitman was quickly heading towards the Sawada house with his vampire speed, considering the blood he could smell. Reborn felt his anger rise when he entered the house to find blood on the wall. It was Tsuna's blood, he was sure.

He ran to the bathroom, following the trail of Tsuna's blood, and immediately found what he was looking for. The moment he saw the bloody, beaten up state his apprentice was in he punched a hole through the door and unleashed a killing intent so big every person in Namimori probably could have sensed it.

From the airport doors that Iemitsu stepped out of, the man shivered at the 'wind' that passed by. However, he thought nothing more of it and continued on his way to his dear wife's house, unaware of the danger lurking there. Bianchi's eyes widened, wondering what could make her lover so murderous. Hibari Kyouya grinned at the presence of a new carnivore and his uncle, Fon, who had just arrived in town, spit out his tea he was drinking in surprise when he felt his fellow Arcobaleno's rage. The pure feeling of wanting to murder someone filtered through all the pacifiers, alerting the Arcobaleno that weren't in Namimori that someone had royally pissed off the world's number one hitman.

Meanwhile, in the Vongola CEDEF HQ, Colonello dropped the rifle he was holding in a split second as he lost focused and completely missed the target he was supposed to be shooting at. Beside him, Lal froze, stared uncomprehendingly at the soldier, knowing Colonello never missed _that badly. _

"Colonello?" asked Lal. "Oi! Don't ignore me!"

Colonello, looking pale, faced Lal. "We need to contact the Ninth right now."

"Why? Did something happen with that," she pointed at the pacifier, which was faintly glowing, but not nearly bright enough to signify another Arcobaleno was close. Something was happening with the pacifiers, Lal was sure, even though she couldn't tell what since she didn't hold the Rain Pacifier. "it's glowing."

"Reborn is about five seconds away from _murdering _either Natsu or Iemitsu. Some of his...violent thoughts are coming through, but only in snippets." said Colonello. "The last time this happened was when Luce died and our emotions transferred through the pacifiers! I don't know what happened, but if we don't get the Ninth to distract him somehow the Vongola is gonna lose their CEDEF boss and Vongola Decimo candidate, kora."

Lal frowned, but nodded in agreement. "Alright, but you'd better not be lying!"

The trip to the Ninth's office was short, considering the two babies were using the CEDEF's training grounds. With Colonello's panicked attitude, he moved faster than Lal thought he would've. Colonello practically rushed into the Ninth's office, and Lal followed at a slower pace, walking calmly into the office, with a disgruntled look on her face.

Nearly twenty minutes later, the situation was explained, and the Ninth boss of Vongola was stressed on time on how to figure out how to save his subordinate Iemitsu and heir while being very far away from them.

"I can only think of one thing to calm Reborn, but it's risky. Iemitsu has chosen Natsu as his successor. Since I left it to Reborn to decide whether either Tsuna or Natsu was mine, I haven't picked yet since the possibility of Tsuna being Vongola Decimo came up. However, now it may be enough to distract Reborn. I forced him to train Natsu, so if I gave him the possibility to do what he wants, perhaps he'll give me enough time to sort things out."

"That would cause war." said Lal. "They would be forced to fight. Iemitsu would throw a fit, just like he did when we visited Reborn a few months ago. So would Xanxus."

"I suspect that Xanxus will force me to name him me heir. If I name Tsunayoshi heir, then-,"

"I hate to say this," admitted Lal. "but if you named Tsuna heir, and he died, Natsu would still be heir and he'd have to train him. If Tsuna does happen to survive, well, it would be Tsuna's decision. Remember when Reborn said he disliked Natsu because of his attitude and that Tsuna had more potential? I don't doubt that Natsu would attempt to kill Tsuna if you named him heir. Tsuna has no ambition to become Vongola Decimo. He's Reborn's apprentice, and Reborn obviously thinks training his apprentice is more important than training Vongola Decimo. I don't think he'd do that without a good reason either."

"So you're saying I should just let Reborn go and leave one of my successors open to assassinations and relatively untrained?" Timoteo said, raising an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound wise, Lal."

"Well whatever happened, Reborn must think it's Iemitsu's fault, kora! The emotion has stopped going through the pacifier, so he must have calmed down a bit. Our only hope can be that Reborn decides that killing Iemitsu isn't worth it, kora!" said Colonello.

"If only my three sons hadn't been killed – then the twins wouldn't have had to take up this burden and Xanxus wouldn't be plotting to take over." said Timoteo, leaning back in his chair. He lifted his hand up to his face and looked over the Vongola ring that rested there, dormant. Regret took over for a moment and the old man sighed.

Lal shook her head, a frown on her face. She had a feeling something was off about all of this, but didn't know what. "I believe its Reborn's fault. He's obviously been hiding the ability to turn into an adult for a long time. He also chose Tsuna as his apprentice instead of Natsu when he was taking a stroll through Namimori. I suspect that something happened to Tsunayoshi, and he ended up in the middle of one of Reborn's assassinations jobs of something like that. The moment he learned Tsuna's name, he must have taken the brat with him rather than have killed him. I don't believe that Reborn would just pick up a random teenager off the street. I tested him earlier when I met him. If Tsuna managed to impress Reborn, it was likely that the brat almost died and his dying will flame appeared. He has nearly no skills besides the ones Reborn taught him and he relied on his Hyper Intuition too much when I was throwing pinecones at him back then; which is proof that he almost died sometime in the past, which doesn't surprise me considering how many assassins we saw in that town while we were there."

"I'd bet that the reason he's so clumsy is because of all the assassins near him. He probably unconsciously sensed it and avoided a lot of snipers and such by accidentally tripping, kora!" said Colonello. "The only reason the kid's probably alive is because of that Hibari kid that rules the town."

"Iemitsu is an idiot." stated Lal. "When I spoke to Tsuna while you were talking back when we were at the mansion, Tsuna told me the last time he saw Iemitsu was when he was six. He's been visiting them far less than we thought. Tsuna can count number of days Iemitsu's gone home on one hand."

"Then what do you propose I do?" Timoteo asked with an edge of cautiousness to his voice. The two in front of him knew Reborn far better than anyone else. If the hitman was ready to kill a Vongola agent, Timoteo would have no choice but to eliminate him, ally or not.

"There's only one way to correct Iemitsu's mistake and save the Vongola from Reborn's wrath, kora." said Colonello, glancing at Lal.

"Xanxus is going to come after you anyways, Ninth. If you make him your successor, that will be avoided and Reborn will be forced to pay attention to the Varia instead of Iemitsu's idiocy and whatever he dislikes about Natsu." added Lal. "This way we'll be able to train Natsu, and Reborn will be able to cool off while the conditions for the Ring battle is set. Plus it'll give us time to prepare, rather than wait for Xanxus to strike and take the rings. Give half the Vongola rings to Xanxus, and half to Natsu."

"But will it work, kora?"

"That's the question everyone wants to know, Colonello." Timoteo said, chuckling. "I suppose we could try. It would be quite a big distraction."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Reborn stood over the body of his apprentice - the body of his food source that he needed, to survive. Reborn had healed Tsuna's wounds partially with what flames Reborn could summon, but with being in his adult for more often than not and having to heal Tsuna's neck, it wasn't a perfect job.

If Tsuna ever woke up, he'd need bandages around his neck and ribs and a sling for his broken arm (Reborn had no doubt from the suspiciousness of Natsu's disappearance that it was the blonde's fault.) The arm wasn't as bad as Tsuna's ribs and Reborn had easily healed the broken bone, but it was still bruised and would likely be painful for Tsuna to move if he ever woke up.

_If. _The thought echoed through Reborn's head. The vampire reached forward with his tiny hands and dragged Tsuna to his bedroom and managed to lift the brunet up on his bed. Reborn stayed by the unconscious boy's bedside for a moment, then turned away to head out the door. He had no doubt it was Natsu, but he knew that Tsuna would dislike him for killing his brother even if he was abused by said brother. Tsuna didn't love Natsu, per say, but Reborn could tell Tsuna cared what happened to his 'family'. Tsuna couldn't handle the death of anyone close to him, even Natsu. Anyone would feel uncomfortable if someone they had lived with their entire lives suddenly died - and killed by their mentor no less. So, Reborn went after the next person to blame; the one that had lost the right to be called Tsuna's family long ago: Sawada Iemitsu.

When Reborn was about to step out the door of Tsuna's room (the room was still bloody, and Reborn hated it, but he didn't dare put Tsuna in Natsu's room) when he heard a small whimper come from Tsuna. Reborn looked back, but Tsuna was asleep. It reminded Reborn that he hardly had any flame left and that he was exhausted from healing the worst wounds Tsuna had. The trauma Tsuna had been put through would likely render Tsuna unable to talk more so than he had been and deathly afraid of his twin who had abused him. If he woke up when someone wasn't there, even Reborn wouldn't know what would happen. Natsu would come back soon (that cowardly rat bastard, seethed Reborn) and Reborn wasn't looking forward to dealing with the brat anytime soon.

"Tsuna, you stupid fool." Reborn turned away from the doorway and sighed. The more he considered leaving, the more it sounded like a bad idea, no matter how much he wanted to murder something. For now, he decided, he'd watch over Tsuna and make sure he didn't die in his sleep.

Equally, Reborn wanted to see what Iemitsu would do once he came 'home'. Reborn had seen the reports about the twins that the CEDEF provided. Natsu had three pages, front and back, about him in a report, while Tsuna got only one that wasn't even a full page of information in Vongola's database. Iemitsu had only gotten the information from Nana, after all. Nana ignored Tsuna nearly completely and adored Natsu as if he were her husband. It was bad for both twins, considering how Nana didn't act as a mother should to either of them.

On the off chance that Iemitsu somehow managed to survive the first gunshot, Reborn would make sure the man's stay was at least the most horrible vacation he would ever get.

Suddenly, Reborn was reminded of something. He hadn't seen Nana for at least two days. She had no idea Iemitsu was here, in fact, the only reason Reborn knew Iemitsu had come to Japan was because he could sense him, just as he could sense all of Giotto's other descendants such as Natsu and Tsuna. Nana had literally disappeared – only Reborn hadn't seen her leave the house.

He'd have to figure out what the hell Nana was doing as well. The woman wasn't the normal, happy housewife everyone thought her to be. Her behavior around Natsu and Tsuna proved that.

Reborn would have to watch Natsu as well. Reborn may dislike Natsu but Vongola needed a heir. He knew very well that if Natsu was killed, they'd have to choose Tsuna as Vongola Decimo. If that happened Reborn wouldn't have easy access to his food source (aka Tsuna) and Reborn wasn't eager to have to go back to drinking shitty-tasting blood. Looking back, he knew he should have refused the Ninth's offer the day the man stepped foot into one of Reborn's many houses and offered him a job as a hitman allied to the Vongola.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

It had been two days. Two days for Tsuna to wake. The brunet had looked like he had just lived through a zombie apocalypse when he woke. His hair was more messy than it normally was from how much he turned and twisted in his sleep, and there was a particularly bad bruise on the side of his face that still was a purple-black color.

Tsuna blinked when Reborn seemed to appear out of nowhere. He didn't jump at the sudden appearance, instead staring. It reminded Reborn of when he had found Tsuna in that alley, covered in his own blood with broken ribs, a sprained wrist and more cuts than he cared to count, with the same dead look on his face. The hitman silently wondered as he met Tsuna's gaze if the cold detachment from the world was one of Tsuna's coping methods.

"Tsuna, how many fingers am I holding up?" asked Reborn, holding up three fingers.

Tsuna made no move to open his mouth, or have Reborn read his lips as he usually would have. If Reborn was any lesser of a hitman-vampire he would have tried to comfort the sad-looking human with a mournful look on his face, but they both knew Reborn wasn't the type to comfort others; being so detached from humans for so long and unable to understand certain things they did or conditions that afflicted them.

Reborn tried again. "Can you at least see, Tsuna?" asked Reborn, not sounding irritated as he normally would have. Tsuna gave no response, not even that he could actually see anything, so Reborn flicked him on the forehead. This brought a whine to Tsuna's lips, and Reborn smirked to cover up his relief.

Slowly, Tsuna reached up and lifted the fedora off of Reborn's head (it was far too tiny for the brunet to wear) and smiled. He placed it on top of his head, looking rather pleased, and Reborn rolled his eyes. Reborn allowed the action, but made a note to add in an extra hour of training to Tsuna's list of things to do. From Reborn's perspective Tsuna looked quite funny, wearing the tiny hat that was placed atop his messy hair.

"I'll let you rest. I've already gotten some of your blood saved to drink, so don't focus on anything else except for recovering, got it?" said Reborn.

Tsuna showed no sign that he had heard Reborn. Reborn resisted the urge to kick Tsuna in the head and stayed where he was. "I have a few bottles of your blood since you bled out on the bathroom floor. It took a lot of work from Leon to clean up the mess you made with the blood on the wall too, Tsuna."

Not a sound came from Tsuna's lips – not even a hum of acknowledgement. However, he did smile, as if saying, _'thank you'_.

Reborn had no doubt this was the worst Tsuna had been through. The incident with Tsuna being unable to talk was hardly anything compared to almost being killed by Natsu. Throughout Reborn's training sessions Tsuna had gotten a broken bone or two, but nothing so bad Reborn couldn't fully heal it all with his Sun flame. It was just like the incident when Reborn had lost control of his vampire instincts and had taken too much of Tsuna's blood. So much Reborn had been sure Tsuna would've been afraid of him afterwards, yet he wasn't. The same could be said for this situation. Tsuna didn't look a tiny bit afraid, only peaceful.

Now Reborn wasn't sure whether or not Tsuna would pass off Natsu's attack like it was nothing or if he would try to avoid Natsu like he was worse than the plague of the dark ages. The hitman himself didn't know which option he would want Tsuna to pick, looking like a shell of his former self at the moment. He was wrapped up in bandages, had his arm in a sling, and still had the clothes on from when he had been near-killed that were covered in dried blood. Either option in Reborn's mind would be bad-

"Gyahahaha! The great Lambo-sama has arrived-,"

"Get out you stupid cow!"

A loud bang of a door slamming shut rang through the house. Lambo, the cow who had arrive a day ago was inside the house. Reborn thought the Bovino would be a good Lightning Guardian for Natsu if he would accept him. He had barely got Natsu to accept Gokudera and Yamamoto as it was currently however. The blonde twin wasn't a great actor, but he didn't act anything but his normal self near his guardians. He was calm, bored looking, and didn't do much when the Storm and Rain were near.

Natsu did not accept Lambo however. He detested weak things, and to Natsu, Lambo was very weak.

"Waahh!" the cow cried, swinging the door open to Tsuna's room and running inside, only to stop at the sight of the woken Tsuna and devil incarnation from hell. Lambo sniffed, rubbing his nose. "Baka-Natsu's twin?"

Reborn had to keep repeating the chant of _Don't kill the brat, don't kill the brat, don't kill the brat _in his head to stop himself from reaching for his gun.

Lambo approached the bed and climbed up on it next to Tsuna's hip. Tsuna looked curiously at the toddler, and then tapped the cow on his forehead in a fashion Reborn could only guess was meant to mean something to the brunet.

"His name is Tsunayoshi, but he likes to go by Tsuna. Don't disturb him, brat." said Reborn. "He doesn't speak and he's been sleeping all this time because of baka-Natsu. If you make any loud sounds, I'll shoot you."

"O-okay," answered Lambo. His wide green eyes were planted on the form of the brunet in front of him. Even the toddler could see Tsuna was very weak and knew not to disturb him. "Tsuna-nii looks really fragile."

Reborn nodded and then in a split second decision kicked Lambo out of the room. "Out. I need to speak with Tsuna."

When the baby hitman looked back at Tsuna, he noticed the disapproving look Tsuna held and smirked. He jumped onto the floor and then looked back to say, "Don't go anywhere, dame-Tsuna. If you so much as step out of that bed I'll make sure that you have a six hour long training session with Lal and Colonello shooting at you the entire time."

Tsuna squeaked and ducked underneath the covers with Reborn's fedora still on his head. The mentor out of the two walked out the door, leaving his prized possession with his apprentice while he went off to tutor (torture) Natsu. Reborn had been watching Tsuna the entire time since the boy had been out, and Natsu had wisely avoided Reborn at all costs once he had felt the killing intent the hitman unleashed. Natsu hadn't killed Tsuna, that much was clear, and Reborn had no doubts that Natsu would try again the moment he took his eye off both Tsuna and him. Since Tsuna was currently assigned to bedrest and could barely move, the possibility of being able to escape another assassination attempt was close to zero.

Once Reborn had left, Tsuna lifted a hand to his throat, feeling the bandages around it. The sling around his bruised arm made any movement difficult, and though the bone was healed the ache was still there. A sad look crossed Tsuna's face, and he stifled a sob, covering his eyes with his arm.

_I'm never good enough for this world, am I? Not my family, or Natsu, or the Vongola. Natsu was picked even though he's younger and Iemitsu doesn't care about me. Neither does kaa-san. Only Reborn tries, but all I'm doing is troubling him, aren't I? _ thought Tsuna, silent tears sliding down his face. _I should've never come back here._

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"What'd you do that for, baseball-freak?" growled Gokudera angrily, grabbing the collar of Yamamoto's shirt and pulling him forward. Yamamoto waved his hands upward, laughing.

"Maa, maa, Gokudera-kun, it's not that bad." said Yamamoto.

"Ne, Yamamoto-kun, Gokudera-kun, shouldn't we be studying for the test in math instead of arguing. I'm sure dame-Tsuna will fix it later since he has so much free time, being let off from school and all." said Natsu, trying to calm his guardians before they made another hole in the wall. Studying never went well, and though Natsu had good grades, Reborn pressed him to be a genius like Gokudera was, and thus the intense studying session (or more like trying to teach Yamamoto the material they had learned in class) began.

"But isn't your twin sick?" asked Gokudera. "Reborn's been guarding over him this entire time. He hasn't come out of that room yet."

"Yeah, Natsu." said Yamamoto. "It's our fault anyways, so we'll pay for it so your brother doesn't have to. Then it won't bother Sawada-san either."

Natsu shook his head at Yamamoto, gripping his pencil tightly. He looked ready to spring up as a moment's notice. He glanced at the door, then leaned close to the Rain. "Don't let Okaa-san hear you say that. She thinks that makes her sound old. Anyways, dame-Tsuna won't be able to go to school for a couple of days after he wakes up anyways. He's always clumsy, tripping over things and such. Reborn will probably want to keep him here to see if he's at risk for injuring himself again. He won't have anything to do, so I'm sure he'll be glad to get out of the house to just go buy a new window."

"Well, if your brother has Reborn-san to help him I suppose so." relented Gokudera.

Natsu gave Gokudera the look. "Why would Reborn go with dame-Tsuna? He's my tutor to become the greatest mafia boss known to Vongola." His voice was calm, as it almost always was. Gokudera hated to admit it, but Natsu was almost too monotone to be considered normal even for mafia. "Dame-Tsuna shouldn't even be alive. I-I mean, he was kidnapped for three months and he doesn't know anything about the mafia."

"Actually Juudaime, there's a rumor going around that Reborn has an apprentice, but his apprentice hasn't ever been spotted. Supposedly Reborn takes his apprentice with him everywhere he goes." said Gokudera. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's why he's around Tsuna all the time."

"Maa, I doubt that Tsuna is Reborn's apprentice in this mafia game of yours, Natsu. Tsuna isn't in the mafia game so the baby wouldn't take him as an apprentice, since Reborn never asked him to join the mafia game, right?" added Yamamoto.

Gokudera, with his hair tied up and glasses on, shoved a book in Yamamoto's face. "Stupid baseball-idiot! When Reborn came here with Tsuna he was an adult and Tsuna was injured and dying!" he said. "It's only logical that if his apprentice was poisoned he'd be mad about it. I haven't seen his injuries, but if Juudaime's brother is Reborn's apprentice then his injuries probably came from an assassin that-,"

Gokudera fell to the floor, clutching his stomach. Bianchi walked in the door with baby Reborn in her arms, smiling. "A-aniki." groaned Gokudera, before running out the door. "Sorry Juudiame! I've got to go!"

Reborn hopped down from Bianchi's arms in front of Yamamoto's homework. He took one look at the one baseball on the piece of paper, the broken window, and Natsu's nervous-looking expression (the word 'training' echoed in his ears; Reborn never took damage to the house very well) and knew what had happened. The baby kicked Natsu in the head and pointed his Leon-gun at him.

"Your father is coming in a few days, baka-Natsu. The Ninth has also seemed to have a change in plans as I've just been notified. He's chosen his son, Xanxus, the leader of the assassination group called the Varia as his successor. However, since your good-for-nothing father chose you, the Vongola Rings will be split in two and you will have to fight the Varia to get the other half. Good luck, baka-Natsu. I won't be rooting for you since you tried to kill my apprentice, by the way. Although, since I do happen to have to train you, we'll be doing some harsh training within the next few days, got it?"

Reborn's smile was sweet. Natsu honestly thought that this was the worst situation he'd ever been in. Reborn _was _trying to kill him. The Varia, an assassination group coming for his blood, didn't sound too good. Natsu couldn't believe it. Perhaps this was Reborn's revenge, his karma for not finishing the job.

Natsu grimaced, but then, thought of something that he could use as revenge. They always said kill it with kindness, and while Natsu hated weak things that gave to others for no reason, annoying Reborn and getting his own revenge would be worth it. So, Natsu smiled a big smile, put a look of happiness up, and asked, "When do we start, Reborn? I'm so happy that you've decided to take my training seriously now!"

Bianchi covered her mouth with her hands as an attempt to stifle her laugh, but failed spectacularly. Reborn's eye twitched.

Reborn disliked this Natsu personality worse than the last, definitely.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**Bianchi just sort of appeared. So did Yamamoto. I-Pin, Fon, Fuuta, Mukuro, Chrome, Shamal (though you've already seen him), Dino, Haru, Ryohei, etc. have sorta been skipped over, since this timeline is obviously a lot faster than canon. They will appear in this story however. Since the Varia has been chosen instead of having to stage a whole "kidnap the Ninth" thing, Natsu and his guardians get a whole lot more time to prepare for them than in canon time.**

Natsu is blonde, however that isn't his natural hair color. He looks different than Tsuna in that way, and also because his bangs are different than Tsuna and look more like Giotto (only on the right side his bangs is clipped up with Kyoko's old hair pins). Forgot to mention that and it'd be awkward to add that in somewhere.

Originally, almost everywhere you see a "O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O" is where a chapter ended/started. I just combined them all since when I typed them up they were too short. Originally this was Chapter 12.

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–-/ I am typing this up from what I've written in a spiral notebook. Look on my profile page for more info. on that.

End of Notebook 1, current pages typed: 78, words: 32,762, chapters: 6


	7. Mukuro and Nagi

**Red**

**Chapter Seven**

"Reborn," demanded Natsu. "why didn't you tell us this might happen earlier?"

"Life isn't fair, baka-Natsu," said Reborn, kicking his student on the head and turning Leon back into his chameleon form. The chameleon licked Reborn's finger and then crawled to the side of Reborn's fedora, content to watch what would happen. "now go back to doing your homework. If it isn't done in five minutes, and every question isn't right, I'll shoot you."

"Fine." grumbled Natsu, turning his head away from the hitman and looking back to the pile of papers on the table. Beside him, Yamamoto gave a nervous sounding laugh as Reborn sent him a glare that clearly told him he'd be included in the shooting if he didn't finish as well. "I only have three problems left anyways – I'm not a failure like dame-Tsuna who can't even get two problems done in fifteen minutes."

In a second, the barrel of Reborn's gun was pressed against Natsu's temple, making the boy yelp at the sudden teleportation, as one might call it, towards him. He hadn't seen Reborn move. "Then you should be able to get those problems done in thirty seconds if you're so good at them, right, baka-Natsu? Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven..."

Natsuhiko paled, and then grabbed his pencil and began to write.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"Oya, oya, a new visitor?"

Tsuna jumped, scared out of his wits by the voice that appeared so unexpectedly. He was in an open field, next to a lake, despite Tsuna being sure that he was sleeping, considering he wasn't dead and he didn't feel like crap. He hardly noticed the bandages on him, or the white dress shirt and silky white pants that fit loosely around his shoulders and waist. Tsuna's neck was covered by bandages, but Tsuna felt self-conscious about it and brought up a hand to feel the scar that was there. The bruise on his face was gone, and the rest of his cuts and injuries he felt no pain from, as if they weren't there. He wore no shoes, but that didn't surprise Tsuna since Reborn had likely removed them when he had saved Tsuna from dying.

The fedora – Reborn's fedora – was on his fluffy hair, but instead of being baby-sized Tsuna found it to fit him perfectly. He reached up and took it off to look at it, and sure enough Tsuna found the orange stripe to still be there.

"Hello," greeted the voice from earlier. "what might be your name, _leone?"_

Tsuna spun around, and found the person that was speaking in back of him. It turned out to be a male with blue hair (_pineapple _Tsuna thought instantly) and a collection of clothes that looked too nice to be real – although the clothes Tsuna were wearing also were things he would never think of wearing. Plus he could never afford it.

The person offered a hand, and Tsuna hesitantly took it, a frown on his face. Mukuro pulled the burnet forward, looking down to see the bandages wrapped around Tsuna's neck. Tsuna's eyes widened, realizing where exactly he was looking, and stepped back, ashamed. He covered his throat with both his hands and looked away from Mukuro, trembling.

He wanted to say something, but he undoubtedly knew that it would hurt if he did speak. There was no pain in this weird realm, and the pain in his throat was gone, but Tsuna's scars were not. He didn't want anyone to see, not his mentor, not his family, and not a stranger either. They were his mistakes, and the one he was sure was on his neck was proof he wasn't good enough.

"Kufufufu," chuckled Mukuro while looking up at the brunet's face. While the laugh would have been sinister in any other situation, Tsuna could tell there was a tint of disappointment in it. "nothing can touch you here, little rabbit. What you see is nothing but an illusion. Your pain cannot touch you here." The Mist user touched the bottom of Tsuna's chin and tilted it up, then examined the brunet's neck after he had unwrapped the bandages. "Hmm, it's a clean cut; not terribly jagged."

Tsuna shook his head. Normally the movement would have hurt to do, but in this realm is didn't. Mukuro sighed, stepping back, and then summoned an illusionary pen and paper and handed it to the fragile-looking teenager. "This is my mindscape. Judging by tour condition, I'd say you unconsciously reached out to the closest power that could heal you easiest. You're free to say what you wish, or write. I've only had one other person enter this realm, and she was in far worse condition than you. How curious, kufufufu."

'My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, but call me Tsuna. What do you mean by that? Can you heal me?' wrote Tsuna. He held up the notepad once he was done writing for Mukuro to see.

Mukuro smirked. "To answer your question you'd have to tell me what happened to you, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna looked at Mukuro for a few moments, trying to measure if his intuition would do anything, such as warn him. Luckily, it didn't, so Tsuna figured that he wasn't in any danger here as the Mist had said. He wondered what the stranger meant – he hardly made any sense to Tsuna. He distantly remembered Reborn telling him about someone who had a red eye who had broken out of Vendicare rather recently, and though this stranger did fit that description, something pulled Tsuna towards him. It was as if this person was part of Tsuna's flame; he could sense it was there, but he couldn't control it. It was like something just out of his reach.

'My brother,' wrote Tsuna. 'tried to kill me. He slashed my throat with a knife.'

Tsuna wanted to cry. Remembering what had happened was stressful; he could still feel the cold of the knife against his throat and the throbbing phantom pain in his ribs, despite the injuries being healed. He also remembered Natsu – and how he had left Tsuna to die without guilt. It brought the thought that Tsuna wouldn't ever be free of him until Natsu was dead; even moving far away likely wouldn't help Tsuna quench his fears towards Natsu's sociopathic behavior. Tsuna honestly didn't want to wake up and have to face his twin again, to look at him and see him every day, knowing what he'd done and knowing that he'd do it again if Tsuna ever spoke.

Compared to the calm water and grass at his feet, unscathed and peaceful, Tsuna was a broken piece of machinery that couldn't stand on his two feet. Reborn had healed him yet again, and helped him. Without his mentor, Tsuna wouldn't even be alive, let alone free. That also meant that Tsuna wouldn't stand on his own, that despite everything he still relied on the hitman to help him, knowing that nothing would come of it until he stood up for himself.

Mukuro was frowning, considering what to do. First Nagi came, with no organs, and now a mute boy with a gruesome throat injury and yet another family that had abandoned this child, much like Nagi's had. Wiping the frown off his face, Mukuro smirked again ad gestured outwards with both arms to the boy in front of him.

"Well then, Sawada Tsunayoshi, will you tell me about yourself? We have all the time in the world, and another may join us today as well. Her name is Nagi and she is in a similar situation to you. She has no organs and her parents refused to donate organs. Since she has been here, she could be willing to explain to you what this means for you to be here, kufufufu."

Not knowing how else to respond, Tsuna nodded, his face blank.

The illusionist eyed the wound on Tsuna's neck with a look that Tsuna wasn't sure was a good thing. "Why did your brother try to kill you, little rabbit?" he said, gesturing at the scar. "Kufufufu, that can't be an accident after all."

An hour later, Rokudo Mukuro found out Vongola Decimo's identity and how cruel the mafia could be to civilians dragged in it – and found himself with an urge to protect the angelic soul in front of him from the dark clutches of the mafia. Sawada Tsunayoshi was his Sky, and Mukuro was the deceiving Mist that tricked and deceived to gain what was his, and Mukuro was a sure as hell that he'd kill the little brat that was named heir for the Vongola famiglia one way or another.

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O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

His head was hurting, his heartbeat echoing in his head. All he could do was lie in bed in pain, hoping his savoir (read: the nasty, sarcastic bastard named Reborn) came to help him with the aid of painkillers. Since the vampire had used his store of Sun flames to heal Tsuna, he couldn't and wouldn't want to heal anyone with the tiny bit of flames he had left that weren't sucked up by the Arcobaleno pacifier until he was sure he would have enough to transform into his adult form. It was the only way he could drink fresh blood since he was incapable of it in his baby form and he didn't like to drink the blood that had been stored for emergency measure, but since the Arcobaleno didn't have enough energy to transform he was forced to - which meant an unhappy Reborn. From what Tsuna understood, Reborn would wait until he was healed to do anything involving taking his blood or training, but that didn't mean the temperamental, grumpy, hissy Reborn was happy and wouldn't take his frustrations out on everyone in the house.

Tsuna glanced around his room, a natural habit he had gotten when he knew Natsu or any sort of bullies were around. Luckily, nothing seemed disturbed, even the loud Lambo had wisely stayed away and had no disturbed him. On the low table in the middle of the room lay a stack of six or so books. Tsuna had to squint to see the titles, and once he did he groaned and angrily stuffed his head underneath his pillow and kicked his feet against the bed in a fit of momentary temper tantrum.

They were Japanese-to-Italian dictionaries. It seemed Reborn had thought it appropriate to have him start learning another language and when learning anything around Reborn there was always traps. Tsuna gave a small peek of the edge of his bedside and saw only what he was expecting – wires attached to bombs, tiny spikes on the floor, and, if Tsuna assumed right, there would be motion sensing bombs underneath the floorboards that he couldn't see.

The brunet huffed in annoyance and pouted. Reborn had told him not to get out of bed, but this was a bit too much. To reach the table where the books were would be insanely difficult unless he had the ability to leap five feet from his bed with a blinding headache and aching body. The annoyance only rose as Tsuna realized that Reborn probably wanted him to do just that without touching the ground. It was at times like these Tsuna wished his mentor wasn't so sadistic. If only Reborn would allow him to learn the techniques of a hitman and learn to fight normally, at a normal, civilized pace, he could actually relax for one day. Having pianos falling down on him every day while training – no, he wasn't going to think about that ever again. Who knew if he had jinxed it and Reborn installed more traps in the house than just in his room? Tsuna trembled at the thought, and hit his fists against the pillow, silently seething.

Tsuna had the honor to join the group of people who had been harassed by Reborn whom all knew the horror of the cursed hitman's training. Tsuna almost felt bad for Natsu, a person who didn't know anything of the real mafia, to have to go through the Spartan training Reborn set up. Combine the devil's obstacle course and the vampire's hate for Natsu and Tsuna was honestly surprised Natsu was alive right now.

Although similar, from the week Tsuna had been in the Sawada house with Reborn he noticed the slight differences in Reborn's student had to face during training versus the training of Tsuna's apprentice course of three months. He hadn't gotten a chance to train any further since he always kept on getting grievous injuries; however Tsuna didn't know if that was a better or worse deal.

While Natsu had dying will bullets to help him (which was more of a cheat in Tsuna's mind than actual help), Reborn let Tsuna out on his own and waited for the flame to manifest instead of forcing it out like he had Natsu's flame. Once Natsu had been hit with the first dying will bullet (where Tsuna had heard from his mentor that it had happened when Natsu fought Gokudera), Reborn had told Tsuna that Natsu's flame had been sealed, however now that it had been unlocked Reborn could have the choice of doing what he did with Tsuna with surprise attacks to slowly awaken his Hyper Intuition and flame, but found no joy in that.

Reborn was waiting for the chance when Natsu didn't have a regret and died – and with the way Natsu thought Tsuna was sure there would come a point where Natsu regretted nothing. Natsu didn't regret harming Tsuna, and there wasn't much else he regretted that he could fix (such as Kyoko's death).

With Tsuna, Reborn pointed out the mistakes and told him what to do correctly. With Natsu, Reborn just kicked him in the head or smashed him with a ten ton hammer and told him to figure it out himself. With Tsuna, Reborn bothered to transform into his adult form to better train him, while with Natsu he never suggested such a thing and lazily sat back and watched as Natsu attempted to do the task assigned to him.

The brunet let out a sigh and closed his eyes, looking away from the books. At least he had Reborn to care for him, unlike his good-for-nothing father Iemitsu.

If Iemitsu ever came back, Tsuna wouldn't be able to say exactly what he'd do – or what Natsu would do. Natsu surely would not be happy – he hated Iemitsu for causing Nana to behave as she did.

Tsuna switched his train of thought away from the image of his father in his mind. Instead, he thought about the illusionist he had met: Rokudo Mokuro, and the other visitor of the dream, Nagi. Tsuna couldn't help but get the idea that Mukuro felt disappointed in the shy girl's parents, if not slightly murderous towards them. Tsuna himself felt disgusted, thoug on the inside of his mind he couldn't help but compare his own parents to Nagi's.

Similar to Nagi's parents, Tsuna had a family that disliked and abandoned him. His mother ignored him, which was often commented on by Natsu, saying that she didn't love him. Although on Natsu's side, Tsuna was sure there was something wrong there. Nana didn't exactly act loving towards Natsu whenever she did happen to come out of her room or come back to the house after a few days of absence. It wasn't entirely unusual for her to disappear for days at a time.

Tsuna's father was never there when he was needed and although the man was the one that probably least despised Tsuna in their entirely screwed up family, Tsuna loathed him for leaving Nana alone and turning her from a happy housewife to whatever it is she could be called now.

Natsu was the reason bullies came after him without fear of getting in trouble because Natsu would always cover for them by saying he'd seen Tsuna trip down the stairs or hurt himself accidently whenever the teachers asked about Tsuna's injuries. Natsu also liked to tip the bullies off on what route Tsuna attempted to take home, since there was only three ways Tsuna could take from the school to his house to get there. As well as that, there was also Natsu's obsession and possessiveness over Tsuna, which the brunet realized was not normal in any way. Anything Tsuna did, Natsu had to have control over, including his health.

The Sawada family was a mess and anyone who saw the glint in Natsu's eyes, or the way Nana stayed in her room for increasing periods of time, and the way Iemitsu was never home, or the way Tsuna trembled whenever anyone came near him would see it.

That was also one of the reasons Mukuro found himself drawn into the bright Sky he had met. Although Mukuro hated the mafia, even he could see the regretful look he found in his subordinates eyes each day that told of Tsuna's involvement in the Vongola Decimo candidate mess – which had started Natsu's aggressiveness to get worse.

Tsuna had been through what many would call hell (except for perhaps Mukuro, who literally had been through hell), but he still tried to care for those around him, such as Reborn and a newly-added Mukuro and Nagi. Mukuro had witnessed the way Tsuna's orange eyes had softened when he laid eyes on Nagi – not in pity, but in acceptance, as he understood what she was going through. Mukuro had nearly lost his smirk when Tsuna had done nothing less than engulf Nagi in a hug and say that he would be damned if he didn't find a way to help her live her life to the fullest. When Tsuna had spoken to Nagi – actually talked instead of writing – both the purple-haired girl and Mukuro had to wince at the soft, emotion-filled melody that was the brunet's voice (which Mukuro knew from his experience in his mindscape that Tsuna's voice would've sounded like that normally had he not been injured).

Along with his voice (that both Mist's knew nobody else would ever get to hear unless someone was able to reverse time to the point before Tsuna's drink had been tipped) the boy's eyes shone happily when he found that they both had accepted him and all his faults. Tsuna had told them everything, including how he learned of the mafia when the vampire Reborn picked him up, and how he had been shocked when the vampire took him in and cared for him and trained him. Both Mukuro and Nagi could see how joyful Tsuna was when Nagi said she'd be his friend and Mukuro had laughed his odd-sounding laugh in agreement because to Tsuna, they weren't just with Tsuna for their own benefit like Reborn had been, but were with him because he was their Sky.

Thus, because Mukuro planned to take down Vongola Decimo anyways and Tsuna was just an added prize to piss off said Vongola heir, he'd attempt to heal Tsuna's throat as he had been planning to do with Nagi's organs. It always helped to irritate his enemies, and Mukuro would find great enjoyment in doing so with his Sky's so-called twin Sawada Natsuhiko.

Fixing two critical injuries in a day or two would screw Mukuro over; he knew this very well. He would also have to create two illusionary items to keep the illusion going so he wouldn't have to be near them to sustain the illusion so he could keep the two from dying. Nagi would be helpful with her talent for illusions and Tsuna for his information. From his position on his couch in the wrecked Kokuyo school building, Mukuro laughed. On the positive side of healing his dear Sky's injuries with illusions, he also had the identity of Vongola Decimo and could easily possess Tsuna if the need ever arisen. He'd lie low until he finished creating the two illusionary items needed to sustain the illusion he planned to put on them, and then, go in for the kill.

Lying in bed, Tsuna felt a slight twitch of his Hyper Intuition warning him that something was coming in the near-future, but paid no mind to it. He was too tired to deal with his Intuition at the moment and he was sure Natsu could deal with it anyways. It wasn't his problem – his Hyper Intuition wasn't warning him loudly enough after all.

* * *

0O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**Nagi = Chrome Dokuro**

This chapter is shorter than the others, but it would have been awkward to continue it since the next chapter skips a few days forward from this point in time. I will post update times on my profile so look there to know when the next update will likely come out.

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	8. A Reason To Live

**Red**

**Chapter Eight**

Lambo leaped through the doorway of Natsu's room only to pause at the sigh tof the brunet twin straightening the covers of Natsu's bed. Tsuna froze in place when he noticed the cow child holding a grenade in his hand, looking to have stopped his throw halfway, and suddenly felt the need to confiscate all of the weapons Lambo had in his possession.

Contrary to popular belief, Tsuna was the one who began to clean Natsu's room voluntarily that day, and not because Natsu asked him to do so. With all the holes in the walls and broken items from the fights Gokudera, Yamamoto and Lambo got into, the room was a mess and the wall separating Tsuna's room from Natsu's was starting to fall apart – which meant bad news for Tsuna. He didn't feel like having the bullets from Reborn's gun putting holes in his wall and ruining his bed, nor having bits of random conversations hearable. Which was why he decided to clean up the bedroom and attempt to fix the holes in the wall (key word: attempt).

Finding Lambo about to throw a grenade in the room (near the wall connecting his and Natsu's bedrooms no less) annoyed Tsuna greatly. He wasn't about to let all his hard work go to waste after a full morning of cleaning with only one hand.

Lambo whimpered when he saw the determined look painted across the pale, sickly-looking brunet's face. He nearly cried when he noticed the way the brunet stalked forward and snatched the grande out of his hand with a stern look that clearly meant: No more weapons.

"H-hey! That's Lambo-sama's! You can't take that!" yelled Lambo, jumping up and trying to reach the grenade held by Tsuna. "That's no fair Tsuna-nii! Why do you care if I wreck baka-Natsu's room? He's a meany! Meany!"

Tsuna's stern look melted away quickly. A sad smile replaced it, and without any scolding whatsoever to Lambo he pushed the grenade back into the child's hands and left the room. Lambo blinked, wondering what he had done wrong to make his Tsuna-nii so sad.

By the time Tsuna had woken up that morning after the strange visit from Mukuro and Nagi, he'd read the books Reborn had left for him. Since it was a school day, Tsuan guessed that Reborn had followed Natsu to school and was probably telling him to find more guardians. Natsu still had to find a Cloud, Mist and Sun guardians, assuming that Lambo was going to be Natsu's Lightning guardian if Reborn could magically get them to like accept each other.

Walking wasn't the easiest thing to do. Each step sent pain through Tsuna's formerly-broken arm (which still wasn't healed to the fullest) and ribs. His throat ached, but not as badly as the first time he had woken up, though that didn't mean Tsuna didn't have a hard time moving his head from side to side to look different directions. His shoulder that had been smashed by Hibari's tonfa was healed, and his headache gone. All in all, Tsuna felt rather happy about the progress he was healing at.

Tsuna's Hyper Intuition warned him just in time, and Tsuna narrowly avoided a piano falling from (through) the ceiling and onto the floor next to him. He stood for a few seconds, not believing what he had just seen. _A...piano? _thought Tsuna, screaming internally. If that had crushed him he'd be dead. It was like Reborn knew exactly where he was and what he was doing without being there.

Tsuna groaned.

Sometimes he had to wonder what would have happened if Nana and Iemitsu only had one child instead of twins. If Reborn only had one person to vent his anger out on – Tsuna stopped the thought, not wanting to think of the painful hammers and bombs that would surely plague that person, whoever he or she might be.

"Dame-Tsuna, did you just do what I specifically told you not to do?"

_Ah! When did he sneak up on me like that? Ughh, stupid vampire stealth. How is this training if it's impossible to sense you? It defeats the whole point, and plus I'm going to be going against normal people in the future, not vampires. This isn't fair!_

A small, raspy, nervous laugh left Tsuna's lips. Tsuna slowly turned around, knowing any fast movements could provoke his sadistic mentor – hell, even breathing could get one shot between your eyes by Reborn if one wasn't careful. The look on baby Reborn's face told Tsuna everything he needed to know about what was going on in the Sun Arcobaleno's mind.

"Baka-Natsu can make his own bed," Reborn positively growled, which was oddly terrifying considering the fact he was a baby. "now go _sit down _on your bed and _don't move."_

Tsuna was in his room in two seconds flat before Reborn ended his sentence. Sadly, that didn't spare him from his punishment since, as Reborn put it, "If you can make that dumbass' room perfectly clean then you can run all the way up Death Mountain without dying, _apprendista." _

The apprentice really wanted to cry. Reborn was sadistic and cruel – and here Tsuna was thinking he'd get a peaceful day without falling piano's or training.

A gun was pointed at Tsuna's head, daring him to try to run away. "On second thought, I'm sure Hibari wouldn't mind if I dropped his student off for a training session, don't you think, Tsuna?"

Tsuna wanted to throw a pillow at Reborn very badly at that moment in time. Screw the rules of common sense, Tsuna was going to have his revenge one day. Playtime with Hibari meant getting his ass kicked, and Tsuna was not interested in sparring as much as Reborn was.

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O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Hiarbi was ruthless, except for when his student was clearly a person that fought with his fists and yet had a broken arm and then showed up for training with a clear disadvantage – then he was just pissed off. Whether he was pissed off about Reborn waking him up from his afternoon nap during lunch on the rooftop of the school or if it was because his omnivore was injured, Tsuna hadn't any clue.

"Omnivore," said Hibari once Reborn had left to go find Natsu. "where did you get those injuries?"

Tsuna smiled, and shrugged. No-one, in Tsuna's mind, deserved the wrath of Hibari sent on them, even Natsu. Besides, Tsuna was sure that if Hibari managed to actually kill Natsu in his carnivore-bloodlust-state he always entered, Reborn would be mad about not getting to kill Natsu himself. Tsuna was more afraid of Reborn than Hibari after all.

This answer was not the right one, for Hibari brandished his tonfas and swung for Tsuna's face.

The brunet managed to dodge the first tonfa, but the second one landed a hit on his jaw, sending him to the ground, teeth grinding against one another. Tsuna laid on the ground for a few moments, the world spinning before his eyes. He blinked multiple times and brought his hand up to his head. His headache from that morning that had disappeared had now appeared ten times worse.

"You will get hurt when fighting stronger opponents, omnivore." said Hibari. "If I were an enemy, you'd be dead right now. Stand up and fight. An enemy will not just wait for you to recover, omnivore."

Tsuna realized that the prefect was right. On shaky legs, Tsuna stood, and then put his only available arm forward to prepare himself against the prefect. Hibari smirked. His student was learning.

"I'll bite you to death, foolish omnivore."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"Reborn, why is there a piano in the middle of the hallway? Did you put that there?" asked Natsu. "And where's dame-Tsuna? I thought he was still sleeping. He's supposed to help Okaa-san cook dinner tonight, and it's not fair to her if he doesn't show up. It's the only reason she even comes out of her room nowadays."

"Rule of a mafia boss: never question your tutor, baka-Natsu, ever." said Reborn. He stood on Natsu's shoulder, holding a small cup of espresso tinted a red color. "Also, I'm sure I'll be able to convince Maman to come out of her room today to cook. I'm sure she'll be happy to learn that you'll be grateful for her cooking after eating Bianchi's and Hayato's cooking for the past few days."

Natsu made a face of disgust, scrunching up his nose. "You just made that up," he said. "and if you somehow manage to get Okaa-san to come out of your room I _might _just listen to what you say with those stupid mafia rules of yours, but until then I'm going up to my room."

Reborn had planned to have Natsu train on Death Mountain since the Varia were likely to arrive in two weeks or so. He'd get his payback on the disrespectful brat then.

Once the door to Natsu's bedroom door had slammed shut, another door, the front door, opened to let in the second twin. Tired and bruised from Hibari's attacks came in Tsuna, his shoes dragging against the floor as he moved up the stairs. Reborn waited patiently as Tsuna finally got up the last step, panting.

"Where'd the sling go?" asked Reborn upon seeing Tsuna's arms hanging limp at his sides.

Tsuna looked away from the hitman. Fortunately Reborn was an understanding mentor and only jumped onto Tsuna's nest of hair.

"There's another one underneath your bed. However, there is another thing I have to tell you, Tsuna. Iemitsu is coming with the Vongola half rings today to give them to your brother. I'd imagine he'll arrive soon." warned Reborn. "You should know already about the Varia, as I told you earlier. Be careful, Tsuna. Xanxus is unpredictable, and I know you're going to try to jump into your brother's battle, but you can't. Xanxus isn't an opponent you can win against, Tsuna You may know how to listen to your Hyper Intuition, and how to handle a gun and fight like an amateur with your fists, but your flames aren't ready to be unleashed yet. Your resolve isn't as great as Xanxus' – Natsu can handle it. Why you care for him is beyond my understanding of you humans. He hates you, Tsuna-,"

Reborn cut himself off as he saw his apprentice flinch. Tsuna knew that his twin hated him, but hearing someone else say it was like getting slapped in the face. Reborn continued on, keeping himself from biting his lip in frustration at Tsuna's mental condition, "He's tried to kill you and has beaten you; one thing family should never do, blood related or not. Tsuna, you don't owe Natsuhiko anything, so don't go trying to save him if he gets in a bad situation. I know you better than yourself, Tsuna, and you are far too kind and caring to become Vongola Decimo, which is exactly what will happen if you interfere. Stay out of this battle, Tsunayoshi."

Warning in place, Reborn left the room. Tsuna buried his head into his hands and attempted not to break down into a miserably sobbing mess at the top of the stairs. _I can't promise you I'll stay out of it, Reborn. I can't just let Natsu die if he gets too injured and I have a chance to help. _Tsuna put a hand to his throat. It felt cold to touch. _No matter what he's done, I can't let him die. I'll follow my Hyper Intuition like you taught me, and right now it says to not let Natsu die or something worse will happen, so I won't. He'll change; he has to, if he wants to survive in this sort of world._

It was nearing dinnertime, and for once none of Natsu's guardians had followed him home, so the twins and Reborn had the house to themselves. An hour earlier Reborn had snuck into Nana's room, and a half hour later exited looking extremely displeased. Whatever had happened in that room neither Natsu nor Tsuna wished to know, and the hitman himself had then cooked them dinner, completely ignoring Tsuna's attempts to help him and instead snapping at him to get back to his seat. Natsu would likely sleep the rest of the day and Tsuna would have his day of peace since he had completed Reborn's training that day.

After a silent dinner (Natsu hadn't dared insult Tsuna at the dinner table with Reborn having broken two plates already in his apparent anger and snapping at even Tsuna earlier) the two twins parted without words and went to their separate rooms. Reborn stayed in the kitchen, obviously not going to follow either of them, and sat on the table, considering his options.

Tsuna's face hit his fluffy pillow and he fell asleep almost immediately after the tiring day he had been through. It only took seconds for him to appear next to the lake in the dreamscape and have grass at his bare feet.

"T-Tsuna-kun, nice to see you again," greeted Nagi, smiling at him. She sat next to him, having been there before Tsuna had gotten there. Tsuna remembered about what Mukuro had told him previously; Nagi only had a few days to live, so she was put into a medical coma, which meant she was trapped in the dreamscape for a while until Mukuro did whatever it was he was planning to do.

"Kufufu, hello Sawada Tsunayoshi," said Mukuro in kind. "it seems like you got beaten up by a certain skylark."

Tsuna nodded to both of them. The pain in his bruised arms was gone and he could turn his head from side to side without it hurting. The wounds were gone, but somehow Mukuro always knew when Tsuna was hurt.

Feeling more safe than he did in his own 'home' was a welcome thought to Tsuna. He was truly safe here, since only Mukuro could allow people into the realm. Despite also being a former Vendicare prisoner (Tsuna had gotten a whole explanation from Mukuro on how exactly his escaping went, which in Tsuna's opinion sounded like bragging), Mukuro seemed content in letting Nagi and Tsuna stay without any harm coming to them.

"Has anyone offered up their organs for you, Nagi?" asked Mukuro. "Any other family members perhaps?"

Nagi shook her head negative.

Tsuna showed his displeasure at this by shaking his head. To think that Nagi's own parents would just abandon her and let her die without having the guts to say goodbye was horrible. The girl had done nothing to deserve that kind of fate.

While Nana was content in doing whatever it was she did (Tsuna didn't much pay attention to her. He didn't care if she left, considering she didn't pay attention to him either way), Iemitsu and Natsu would likely care if Tsuna ended up getting hit by a car. At least, that's what Tsuna liked to think. Natsu was possessive of Tsuna, Tsuna knew, and he'd be mad if Tsuna ended up dying in some way that wasn't by him – such as something as lame as getting hit by a car. It was a slightly morbid thought, but Tsuna held onto it happily. It was Natsu's way of caring – sort of. Just in his sociopathic way.

A sudden chuckle caught the attention of Tsuna and Nagi's wandering thoughts. They both looked at their host curiously as Mukuro seemed to think something was funny. The chuckle of 'kufufufu' subsided as Mukuro got a hold of himself and laid eyes on Nagi, having a uncharacteristic smile – not smirk – on his face.

"My dear Nagi," began Mukuro, just as Tsuna's Hyper Intuition sent a loud siren sound through his ears, causing him to wince. "I can give you illusionary organs, but at a price. You would be something of a vessel for me when I myself cannot appear for an event. Since you have Mist flames, it should be easy for me to link the illusion to an item so that I don't have to be near you to keep it going. You'd be able to live, but you would have to always be in contact with me for the illusion to work. Are you okay with that, dear Nagi?"

Nagi was stunned, her face frozen in its expression. Tsuna didn't think she was breathing for a second – he surely wasn't. That was not what he had been expecting upon coming to the dreamscape in his sleep. Mukuro would have to have mastery over his flame to even attempt an illusion of that caliber. Furthermore, neither Nagi nor Tsuna himself knew what Mukuro did for a living besides having escaped from the Vindice, which wasn't a good thing in itself, no matter how nice he was. He did seem knowledgeable on things he shouldn't, which made Tsuna slight wary of him, but only slightly since his Hyper Intuition didn't deem Mukuro very dangerous.

"I-I...yes, of course, Mukuro-sama!" exclaimed Nagi, a blush spreading across her cheeks as the shy girl devoted herself to her savoir in that very moment. "I'd love i-if you could restore my o-organs, please."

_That's a life debt! _Thought Tsuna, suddenly realizing what Nagi was getting herself into. That sort of deal couldn't be undone, especially within the mafia. Since Mukuro was involved in that sort of thing, it meant Nagi would be dragged into it too, just as Tsuna had with Reborn's interference.

Mukuro smirked. "Then I will have Ken and Chikusa pick you up when you wake." He then turned towards Tsuna; the Sky that had unintentionally drawn in the Mist without knowing it. "I also have you to thank for revealing the location of Vongola Decimo me, Sawada Tsunayoshi. Come to Kokuyo Land and I shall restore your vocal cords and throat. I cannot take away the scar that cut has left, but I can mask it if you wish. I will have to give you an item to link to the illusion since I don't have the same flame as you do, nor the connection that I have with Nagi. So, little rabbit, what do you say?"

'Isn't there some sort of catch to this?' wrote Tsuna.

A sly smirk appeared on Mukuro's face again. He put out a hand for Tsuna to grab. Tsuna let himself be pulled forward when he laid his hands in Mukuro's and heard the faint whisper that was only meant for him to hear,

"A Sky without its deceiving Mists is never as bright as it could be, wouldn't you say, Tsunayoshi Sawada?"

Tsuna flinched back, eyes turning orange as his Hyper Intuition's annoying warnings turned into a force that tightened Tsuna's chest and made it hard to breath and sent his hands to tremble. It was an overwhelming sensation. A fierce look was placed on his face, for Tsuna knew enough about _it _to figure out what Mukuro meant. It made Mukuro's smirk widen and Nagi give a gasp of surprise. Tsuna knew exactly what Mukuro meant – Reborn had told him enough about Dying Will Flames and the throne of the Vongola to understand the term Mukuro hinted towards.

"I won't be a mafia boss, Mukuro, and I'll _never _be Vongola Decimo!" stated Tsuna.

Tsuna's anger and will showed through the flickering wisps of flames on his hands and forehead, and through the faint tint of orange in his eyes. Mukuro laughed, amused by all of the surprises the brunet had given him.

"Oya, oya, surely after all that your twin has done, you would want to kill him, no? He's pathetic; his own flame is so tainted I can feel it without seeing it. Sawada Natsuhiko doesn't deserve to be Vongola Decimo. He knows nothing of how cruel the mafia is and if you don't kill him, then I will."

The fingernails digging into the palm of his hands was the only sensation that stopped Tsuna from punching Mukuro in the face. A snarl rose past Tsuna's teeth, clenched together.

"If you go anywhere near my brother I'll kill you, Mukuro. You _are _a former Vendicare prisoner, and Giotto was known for his sense of justice, and I am his descendant. Do not forget that, Mukuro. I won't allow someone like you to kill what is _mine. _I don't care if he's abused me and almost killed me, you don't get that right to kill someone you haven't met until you've seen with your own eyes whether or not they deserve it!"

"Kufufufu, so that is your answer, Tsunayoshi Sawada?" Mukuro said. "You are too kind. If you continue thinking like that, you will die. That mentor of yours can't protect you from the mafia world forever."

Tsuna narrowed his eyes, gripping Mukuro's wrists and pulling the Mist user closer. He didn't mind looking up to glare at the Mist, instead clawing him with his sharp fingernails to give the impression that he did not give a fuck whether Mukuro was taller or looked intimidating. Mukuro raised an eyebrow, stifling a laugh.

"You know it, you just don't want to admit it."

Mukuro's rest of his speech was cut off when he winced, eyes widened just a fraction as he felt flames burn his skin. He looked down at Tsuna, locking eyes with the angered Sky, and soon realized he had crossed the line.

"I may know what it means to be in the mafia. I know what it means when family turns on you. I know what it means when you value a stranger who picks you up off an alley and takes you in more than your own father. I know what it means to say 'I want to be Vongola Decimo' and I know that I won't do that. I know that you want revenge against the mafia – but killing my twin and possessing me is _not _the way to do it." Tsuna hissed, his flames, though not fully formed, burning into Mukuro's skin. The Mist tried to pull away, but it only caused the Sky flames to burn deeper, irritating him. He hated losing control, especially to someone who told him he was wrong.

"You may think that the mafia is horrible, but have you honestly looked around you, Mukuro? Have you seen each blade of grass, surviving through each day? Have you seen the birds in the trees, raising their young? Have you seen a mother caring for her newborn child, with tears of joy in her eyes? Have you truly seen not just the bad side of the world, but the good side as well? This dreamscape, this world," Tsuna pushed Mukuro away and then raised his hands shoulder high and gestured outwards. "this is what you've always wanted, right? A peaceful dream, a peaceful world. This isn't my mindscape Mukuro, this is _yours. _You were the one that allowed us here, you were the one that offered us peace in times of hardships. You say that you're horrible, that you killed a whole mafia famiglia and got put into Vendicare for it, and you know what, yes, I believe that you should be punished for that. For killing the Estraneo? No. But for the famiglia that cared for you, that you didn't even give _once goddamn chance to? _That is _not_ okay. To take away lives, even if they've killed, but to _take _someone – someone who a person loved away from them, without any feeling of guilt, without any feeling of remorse? You disgust me."

"I won't allow a person like that to kill someone like my twin. Despite Natsu being who he is, he has people who he cares about, even if it's in a nasty way, and I care about him. Not because I love him, but because it's the right thing to do, because you know what Mukuro, one day that might come back and repay you. One day that kindness you gave to someone might help you, sometime down the road when you're about to be killed by an assassin, or a madman that takes over the world, or your best friend that tries to kill you."

"Maybe to you, it might not make a difference, but to me, I have to believe in that. If I don't, if I don't think it might get better, if I don't have the small spark of hope in me, I would be dead right now. I would have committed suicide long ago. And then people would be changed, and hey, I might have been ignored and bullied, but I guarantee you when I'm gone people will notice my absence and really honestly think about what they did to me, and consider what they might change in the future. I care about you, Nagi cares about you, and those other people you might call your minions, but I would consider your friends. If you died, they'd be sad. Some might say you're horrible, just as you say Natsu is, but when you think about it, you're just as bad and yet people still care. So if you say you're going to kill Natsu, then I have to disagree. I won't go through that loss, and I refuse to accept that from you of all people who have so many friends depending on you to live and accept them even if you're awful and might get caught by the Vindice at any time. At least then, knowing that, you can see the beauty of the world and actually consider what you've done."

Tsuna stopped. He took another step back from Mukuro, and closed his eyes. "And that is why I won't be Vongola Decimo, because I can't afford it. I won't put Reborn in that sort of position, and I won't force Natsu to do something he doesn't want to do. I won't fight my twin over something as stupid as some ancient ring just because some old man said so. Screw that! If I'm living now, then I'll live with as much will as I possibly can. I'll make the most out of this life I have, and even if its not the greatest, at least I won't have any regrets."

"So, can you say the same, Mukuro?" asked Tsuna. "If you died right now, would you have regrets? If I shot you with a dying will bullet, I wonder what would happen. However, that is not my job to figure out – it is yours. So stop thinking about revenge and start thinking about how you're going to live, because I guarantee you if you don't, you're going to regret it."

Mukuro said nothing. He stared at Tsuna, and Tsuna stared back. On the grass behind them, Nagi gaped, unable to even whisper. If there was one thing Tsuna would never have done, Nagi could safely say that it would have been what he had just done. Tsuna was timid, he had low self-esteem, he was bullied and abused and yet now, Nagi could see why he lived.

She could see why he tried to live, to survive, despite all the odds stacked up against him, and she was sure that Mukuro could understand too. It changed her way of thinking, indefinitely. She would try too now, she knew. She wouldn't let some stupid lost organs get the best of her.

Tsuna hadn't let anything kill him yet, so she wouldn't either. Nagi would be strong, just like Tsuna, because that was what mattered. They were family, and family stuck together, and she'd be damned if she let anyone hurt her Sky. She wouldn't be the pitiful Nagi that cried endlessly about her parents leaving her and the terrifying accident she was in.

She would be Chrome Dokuro.

Chrome Dokuro, a strong girl without any regrets, that would fight for what she believed in, and for her Sky. Chrome smiled, and looked at Tsuna, who still didn't dare to look away from Mukuro. Yes, she decided, he was the perfect Sky for her – and perhaps Mukuro too, if he accepted it.

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O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

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**On a scale of 0 to 10 (0 being I love him and 10 being I hate him) how much do you like/dislike Natsuhiko Sawada?**

**.**


	9. Enter Plot Twist

**Red**

**Chapter Nine**

Reborn, Lambo, Gokudera, Yamamoto and Natsu were all gone, off to Yamamoto's baseball game. Tsuna had the house to himself, but didn't want to stay because he knew Iemitsu would be coming home that day. On the other hand, he could leave and follow Mukuro's directions to Kokuyo Land and see Nagi outside of his dreams, and have his throat healed. He would be able to speak without there being any pain if Tsuna decided to go that route.

However, Tsuna was hesitant to do so. It was either meeting Mukuro and Nagi in person, and face the consequences of standing up to his Mist that would likely be mad, or stay home and be the first one to greet Iemitsu. Iemitsu was the easier of the two, physically, but mentally Tsuna didn't think he could handle that sort of pressure.

_Off to wonderland, I guess, _Tsuna thought, walking out the door.

Meeting Iemitsu again wasn't going to happen at all if it was up to Tsuna. Reborn would certainly call him a coward, but Tsuna was ready for that. Tsuna left the house as soon as he had gathered his notepad and pencil. Since he often wandered around on Saturdays, he easily took the shortcuts to Kokuyo Land and was stepping into the wrecked building within ten minutes of leaving his house.

Tsuna found Mukuro and his two followers quickly; too quickly for Tsuna's liking.

"Oh?" crowed Mukuro. "So you actually came? Kufufufu, here." The illusionist tossed Tsuna a pencil, which the brunet caught. Tsuna gave a questioning look and Mukuro elaborated. "Doesn't your throat feel any different now, Tsunayoshi-kun? I don't make empty promises you know."

Tsuna glared at the blue-haired illusionist, but took the pencil all the same. True to Mukuro's word, his throat wasn't aching in pain anymore and he guessed if he took off the bandages around his neck the cut would be gone. Tsuna opened his mouth to say something, to test it, but Mukuro beat him to it.

"No thank you's?" prompted Mukuro, the smirk ever-present on his face. "How mean."

Tsuna couldn't help but roll his eyes good-naturedly at the Mist. "T-thank you." He paused. His voice sounded a lot different than before his neck had been cut by Natsu. It was normal, just like Natsu's own voice. Once the thought was in his head, Tsuna couldn't get it out. He would have to get used to hearing his own voice, and try not to be scared by it in his instinctual panic. "Can we...forget what happened earlier and be...friends? Can you do that for me, Mukuro?"

"Kufufufufu, you never cease to amaze me, Tsunayoshi-kun. I don't have friends, however, I will be your Mist guardian if you are ever in need of one. You are like a light drawing a moth to flame. Not even that prefect can escape your light; he's like a lost puppy following his rescuer everywhere-,"

A tonfa slammed into the wall behind Mukuro; the blue-haired teen having just moved his head to the side to avoid it. A laugh came from Mukuro as he summoned his trident to block the attack from Tsuna's 'puppy' as he called him.

"I'll bite you to death, herbivore!"

"Oya oya, so the skylark is protective of his student?" chuckled Mukuro, grinning widely as he engaged Hibari in combat. Tsuna watched with wide-eyes for a few seconds, not believing it. Hibari must have seen him walk past the school on the way to Kokuyo.

"Please stop fighting, you two!" said Tsuna. "Hibari-san, Mukuro-san isn't going to harm m-me. Please don't hurt him."

Mukuro slammed the edge of the trident into Hibari's gut, sending the prefect smashing into the wall. "Drop the honorifics Tsunayoshi and I might consider it." said Mukuro, swinging his head to the side as he said it to avoid a flying tonfa coming his way. "The Japanese are fickle with names and I don't want mine to be ruined by such customs, don't you think skylark-san?" he sneered the last part at the prefect meaningfully taunting him with his use of pet names.

Hibari took advantage of the opening created with Mukuro's distraction as he glanced over at Tsuna and swung his tonfa at Mukuro's knee, planning to permanently cripple the intruder that had gotten close to his Sky. The attack grazed the illusionist, who managed to escape the attack barely. Hibari got to his feet, standing up straight and readying himself to lunge at Mukuro when he heard sniffling.

Mukruo and Hibari both looked over to Tsuna to find the Sky crying. Hibari put down his tonfas, but still held onto them at his sides, while Mukuro vanished his trident and slowly approached Tsuna.

"Kufufufu, I wouldn't want to have the little rabbit's tears decorating my floor," said Mukuro. At the same time and small grunt was heard from Hibari, who also walked forward and only shoved past Mukuro when he passed him.

A sleeve wiped away Tsuna's tears (Tsuna would only later realize it was Hibari who had done so) and lifted Tsuna up bridal style. By the time Hibari sent his last glare at Mukuro, Tsuna was tucked tightly into his arms. Mukuro let Hibari leave with one last laugh, and then prepared himself for what he'd have to do next: approach Nagi and see how she was holding up – or Chrome Dokuro, as she now called herself.

"Foolish omnivore, letting such things affect you." said Hibari. The prefect reached the Sawada house within only twenty minutes; using the rooftops to jump across to get there. It was Reborn who opened the door for them.

"Set him on his bed. Upstairs, the door with the fish on it." Reborn told Hibari.

Hibari gave a nod, and did as he was instructed. When Hibari came back down the stairs, he glanced over at the people looking at him from the kitchen door and glared at them. Natsu retreated into the dining room and the blonde who Hibari could only assume was the boy's father stayed, glaring right back at him. An unwise decision. Hibari walked purposely past him, through the kitchen, to the living room. He paused, eyes scanning the rather empty room. Once Hibari laid eyes on the mysterious baby he had seen lurking around Namimori, he frowned.

"Don't break this, it's the omnivore's." said Hibari. "Do so and I'll bite you to death." He threw it to Reborn. Natsu and Iemitsu looked at the strange event of Tsuna's two mentors interacting (or rather, a self-proclaimed mentor and a carnivore who was interested in a new omnivore).

"I felt Mist flames, and this pencil is covered with them." said Reborn.

"The annoying red-eyed herbivore healed the omnivore." Hibari said, turning away. It was obvious to everyone in the room that he was annoyed by the events that had taken place earlier that day.

"So Mukuro Rokudo has made his move?" Reborn didn't miss a beat. He figured that Hibari had heard the man's name and would tell him the truth about it.

"The omnivore argued with the herbivore about _your _mafia famiglia. The annoying herbivore made him cry, so I took him and left." said Hibari in simple explanation. "He was pathetic. I won't allow a herbivore like that to interfere in my town. I'll bite him to death."

Reborn raised an eyebrow at Hibari's odd way of saying things, but said nothing as Hibari left. Reborn watched the skylark carefully, checking to see if he was hiding any wounds, and then decided that he'd keep an eye out for Vendicare's escaped prisoner. The Vindice were likely to come after him, and if there was one thing Reborn was more wary of than Tsuna dying, it was the Vindice.

One thing about the Vindice was that they had very deep feeling of hate and annoyance for Reborn; another was that they had been trying to kill him since after Giotto died. It was only due to Sephira's interference that Reborn had survived that day.

"My tuna-fish got involved with Rokudo Mukuro?" blurted out Iemitsu.

"Dame-Tsuna doesn't deserve to-ah, er, get involved with such," Natsu had remembered his father was there, and the look Reborn sent him gave him a sure idea of what would happen if he said something in front of Iemitsu. "dangerous criminals."

The baby hitman glared at the two and pointed his gun at them. "You're giving me a headache. Baka-Natsu, go make me an espresso."

"What-," a bullet whizzed past Natsu's ear. The blonde twin had never made or rather, didn't know how to make an espresso, but with Reborn glaring holes into the back of his head he quickly learned how to without any instruction at all besides a few bullets coming a little too close to comfort directing him to certain areas of the kitchen.

With espresso in hand, Reborn went up to Tsuna's room and entered, closing the door behind him.

Reborn sighed and placed a hand on Leon's head, petting him. He could feel a headache of epic proportions coming that included the words Rokudo Mukuro, Vindice, Tsuna, and Iemitsu. He took his eyes away from his apprentice a day and Tsuna somehow ends up with a notorious mass-murderer who just so happened to have recently escaped from prison. He looked at Tsuna, making sure there were no lasting injuries from his contact with Mukuro, and then went to the door.

It was only the voice, a familiar one that he heard almost every day that stopped him. A voice that was softer than Natsu's yet sounded like him.

"R-Reborn."

Reborn didn't think he was hearing right. Tsuna didn't speak unless it was a life-or-death situation. Tsuna was presumed mute by nearly all his classmates. Tsunayoshi was afraid to speak – and for a good reason. To hear his voice was a miracle that even Reborn couldn't have produced.

"I know you're listening, s-so please, don't let Natsu die." said Tsuna. Reborn was still facing the door, not moving, but he could guess that Tsuna was looking right at him. Reborn didn't show any sign that he had heard the brunet; he didn't turn, he didn't look at him, he didn't nod.

Reborn spoke one word, "Why?"

There was a second of silence, and then, "Because it's the right thing to do."

Reborn exited the room, and slammed the door shut. One hinge on the door broke, but Reborn didn't care. Instead, he stood outside Tsuna's room, leaning on the door.

When your twin attempted to kill you, you weren't supposed to ask your mentor to protect them. Tsuna was one of a kind, Reborn had no doubt of that. Not even Luce had managed to affect his emotions as much as Tsuna had – perhaps it was because he looked like Giotto, and was just a bit like his previous partner in crime, but either way, Reborn didn't like it. While Luce had been alive for a very long time, and while he had been forced to take care of her after Sephira died, Reborn only viewed her as a distant relative or his leader, never the person she was meant to be to him. As her Sun, Reborn acted like he should've, up until the point she had gone away. Unlike Tsuna, she followed his advice. Tsuna didn't follow his advice, however, and was too kind for his own good. Luce had understood the importance of lives, but she also understood that there were some people that weren't good people. She followed her visions until the end, and while Reborn might have once point resented her for it, he didn't chase after her when she made her decision.

The hitman tilted his fedora down to shadow his eyes. If Tsuna wasn't going to change, then he was going to change Natsu – and take his training seriously. It was time to teach Natsu Giotto's Zero Point Breakthrough, the real version, and not the shitty version Timoteo used.

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O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

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All was quiet on the mountain, until the yell of, "Sawada! I have _extremely _come to ask you to join the boxing club!" Natsu had to do a double take, jaw wide open. He was halfway up the cliff and there came Ryohei, shirt off, and looking like he had just run all the way up the mountain. In all actuality, he probably had.

Reborn, who was pouring a vial of blood into his espresso, paused to look up at the boxer. He then looked to Natsu, who was barely hanging onto the cliff, and snickered.

"I'm training Sasagawa-sempai, maybe later?" shouted Natsu from his perilous position on the cliff. He didn't sound nervous, only slightly bored, as if climbing wasn't worth his time.

"That's _extremely _smart Sawada!" yelled Ryohei. "Then I shall train to the extreme as well!"

Natsu frowned. He didn't like Ryohei Sasagawa very much, considering he knew the older boy from the times before – when Kyoko had been alive. Seeing a person from that far back, and one that he tried to avoid at all costs unnerved him more than Reborn's glare did. He didn't like it.

"Ah, but Sasagawa-sempai, there's no need to tire yourself out. I'm sure you're tired from running uh, all the way up the mountain, right? No...normal person does...that." said Natsu. "I can handle training myself anyways. Reborn would get mad if you helped me, and I can't stop training until I climb this cliff, so you wouldn't get to spar with me today anyways."

"How many extreme tries have you attempted so far?"

_Thirty-two. _Natsu thought grimly. He would pay back Reborn for this. The stupid baby hitman would get killed one day, and when he did Natsu would be there to laugh at him. Revenge would be sweet – one day.

"Oh, only twelve tries. I'm pretty tired however, but I'm sure that if I keep going I'll make it, " _Yeah, in a goddamn million years. _"really, Sasagawa-sempai, I _don't _need your help and I _really _don't want to train with you. Seriously. Reborn would kill me if I did that. Wouldn't you Reborn?"

Reborn raised an eyebrow. It was like Natsu was using the parent excuse to avoid everything; "Oh, I'm sorry I can't go to the party my mom told me to clean the house." The only difference was he was using to continue his training and running away from a potential guardian than actually listening to Reborn's orders obediently. It was for Natsu's own interest, and as Reborn always said to Leon, 'Don't do anything for others unless you get something in return.'

_I wonder what you think you can give me, human brat. _thought Reborn.

"Very sorry Ryohei, but my students training is of upmost importance. You can always talk later. This is my job after all I can't have my student fail." said Reborn. "Natsu will complete his training today however and tomorrow I will send him over to spend the entire day sparring with you. Is that fine with you?"

Natsu lost his grip on the cliff ledge and fell to the ground. Ryohei gaped, and Reborn hide his grin behind the sleeve of his nice tuxedo. Bruised and bleeding from numerous small cuts, Natsu got up off the ground, onto his feet, and pointed a finger accusingly at Reborn. Anger was clearly an emotion he had trouble with.

"Reborn you bastard! You can't just do that! It's my life and you can't just dump me on some other person because you don't want me near you!" accused Natsu, clenching his jaw. With one hand pointed at Reborn, the other gripped the hem of his shirt tightly. He was restraining himself from attacking Reborn, and Reborn knew it. If there was one thing worse than Tsuna talking about Kyoko's death in Natsu's opinion, it was spending an entire day with Kyoko's brother, who would always talk about how Kyoko and Natsu had been together and how she really had loved him and that she would always, always talk about him whenever she got home.

Not only that, there was a room with Kyoko's alter in the house.

Natsu had no intention of going anywhere near the house, and especially the place where Kyoko used to live.

Reborn had different plans however, and he was not giving up on them because of Natsu having a temper tantrum. He grinned the devil's grin at the blonde, and gestured towards the cliff. "Back up the cliff, baka-Natsu. You wouldn't want to have to climb all throughout the night and then be late tomorrow for your trip to Ryohei's house, would you?"

"No. I don't want to-,"

"No arguing. Climb the cliff or I shoot you."

Natsu was up the cliff in less than a second. Last time he got the threat of 'I'll shoot you,' Reborn had. The wound on his thigh was proof. The bullet has grazed him, but the stinging pain hadn't stopped and it was still bleeding. Reborn hadn't let him wrap it up in bandages yet.

Ryohei gave a laugh. "Sawada has such an extreme determination to succeed in training! I will do my best as well," he said, turning away from the cliff and continuing on down the mountain. "to the _extreme!"_

That day, Ryohei became Natsu's Sun guardian while his Storm and Rain trained elsewhere under Reborn's order for the upcoming battle against the Varia. At the same time, Lambo stole the last of the grape candies from the fridge while Iemitsu gave Basil his weapon back that they smuggled through the airport. Nan prepared a feats to welcome back her husband – for once outside her room. In Kokuyo was a newly-named Chrome Dokuro, who was handed a trident nearly identical to Mukuro's along with illusionary organs. At his own traditionally styled Japanese home was Hibari Kyouya, who was looking at his dented tonfa with a frown on his face. In his room, Tsuna sat on his bed, staring at the white haired stranger that was perched on his windowsill.

Tsuna's Hyper Inuition was throwing a fit. It was just like the time the assassin had stabbed him; he hadn't noticed the white haired teenager until it was too late. The smile on Byarkuran's face and the gun pointed at Tsuna proved that.

"Hello Tsunayoshi-kun~! My name's Byakuran, I've come to make a deal with you since our game will start soon~," said Byakuran in a sing-song, annoying voice that grated on Tsuna's ears. "Will you join my famiglia, the Millefiore? If you do I won't kill your twin~!"

Byakuran, while still holding the gun in one hand, leaped from the windowsill to the middle of the room. Tsuna tried not to look nervous, but having yet another person he didn't know with an advantage over him didn't put his mind at rest. He was wary of the stranger, especially since such person was pointing a gun at him. He could tell Byakuran – whoever he was – was not a good sign. His Intuition was screaming at him to run far, far away from the older teenager.

Everyone Tsuna ever ran into these days seemed to want to harm his family.

"Oh, and if you refuse, then I'll kill you and your brother." Byakuran's grin only got wider. Tsuna glared. "Oh, don't glare at me like that Tsunayoshi-kun~, I'm only stating the facts."

Tsuna didn't drop the glare. Had this happened five months ago, Tsuna would be a shivering, sobbing mess, but now he was different. He had been stabbed by an assassin, bitten by a vampire, met an escaped Vendicare prisoner, gained his voice back and almost killed by his own flesh and blood.

Byakuran didn't have shit compared to what Tsuna had went through in the past five months. Mafia or not, Tsuna was tired of all this, and just because Reborn had left him didn't mean he was going to just give up like last time someone (aka Natsu) had tried to kill him.

That being said, neither person in the room wanted to attract the attention of the people downstairs – Iemitsu, Basil, Nana and Lambo. Tsuna didn't need to be saved, he wasn't a damsel in distress, and he certainly didn't want to be saved by Iemitsu, because that was exactly what would happen if he started yelling. So instead Tsuna stood up and walked slowly to the door, and then locked it. Once it clicked, a sign that it had been locked, Byakuran lowered the gun slightly so it wasn't pointing at Tsuna's head.

"Not going to run?" asked Byakuran, glee evident in his voice.

Tsuna shook his head. While a small sense of fear rose up into his chest and made it hard to breathe, and his Hyper Intuition made it feel like someone had smashed Tsuna's head into the stairs, he stood steady. Until he was sure exactly what Byakuran would do, he wouldn't give anything away. People threatened to kill him daily, hell even Reborn threatened to kill him every other day. He was used to having guns pointed at him as well, and he had handled guns when he was at Reborn's mansion house for three months anyways. It was nothing new to Tsuna.

"So, Tsunayoshi-kun, will you join me, or take the other option which," Byakuran waved the gun near Tsuna's face, mockingly. "will take you into death?" Byakuran stepped closer and put the gun underneath Tsuna's chin, tilting his head up with a grin on his face. "What will it be, _Vongola Decimo?"_

Tsuna grabbed Byakuran's wrist in an instant and pulled the gun away from his face. A shot fired; silenced, but still there. Tsuna flinched, but didn't release his hold on the taller's wrist, making sure the gun wouldn't fire again.

"I am not going to be Vongola Decimo. I refuse to be a mafia boss, and I won't let some stranger come and tell me yet again that I should kill my brother so either you leave or I'll take this gun of yours and shoot you."

"Oh~ you're much braver than the other Sawada Tsunayoshi's I've seen. Well, isn't this interesting." said Byakuran, pulling his hand back and stepping away from Tsuna. Tsuna watched him with narrowed eyes, his fear gone and his irritation back. He had dealt with Mukuro about this issue and he wasn't about to deal with another person he didn't even know on it. "Well, I suppose I'll let you think about it. After all, I'm not lying about killing your twin am I, Tsunayoshi-kun~!"

No, Tsuna knew, Byakuran wasn't lying. His Hyper Intuition said it was the truth, and only the truth that Byakuran spoke about, which meant his intentions were true. Not only that, but this person was stronger than Tsuna, and Tsuna had just recovered from nearly dying. There wasn't any way he'd be able to defend himself if such a person came after him.

Tsuna put his back against the door, and glared at Byakuran. He didn't say another word. Speaking wasn't on the list of Tsuna's favorite daily things to do. Panic took Tsuna off guard and he leaned heavily against the door, his heart beating fast. The truth of what was happening finally hit him.

_What am I doing? Reborn is going to kill me!_

There was a hole in the door from a bullet, a stranger in his room threatening him to join his famiglia or die, and the warning of his and Natsu's death if he refused and yet he had done it again – completely ignored everything and acted like a combination of Natsu and sadistic adult Reborn. It was like he had activated his Sky Flames yet again, but no flames had appeared.

One thing Tsuna was certain about was the fact that his eyes had probably turned orange, and Byakuran could see that. The white-haired teenager probably hadn't been expecting much of a fight with no Reborn to defend Tsuna there. Finding Tsuna about to release his Sky flames and sorely mad wasn't what he was expecting.

Byakuran laughed. "Just remember what I said, Tsunayoshi-kun~! I'll come back later to find out what your answer is, but I'm sure you already know what you're going to say, aren't you?"

Tsuna narrowed his eyes, and with one finger, pointed towards the window. Byakuran put his hands up in a 'I surrender' position and retreated walking backwards to the window, and then jumped out of it. Tsuna didn't bother to check if he was gone; Mr. Angel Wings was easily seen flying into the sky.

After he was sure Byakuran was gone, Tsuna collapsed onto his hands and knees, one hand gripping his shirt at his shirt, pressing down. He felt hot, like he was burning, and the stupid dying will of his didn't help much rather than shoving his fear back for an instant and letting him say what he truly wouldn't have said had he been in his right mind. Tsuna gasped, trying to breathe, but the burning only got worse. Whimpering, he fell to his side, and lost all energy he had left.

Then, Sawada Tsunayoshi passed out.

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O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

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Tsuna went for a walk to clear his hazardous thoughts. He was trying to decide whether or not he should go to Kokuyo to see if Nagi was there, since he could see a lot of his previous self in the shy girl and wanted to help her, of if he should search out Kyouya for a spar. Tsuna had learned that Kyouya didn't seem to want to bite him to death any more than usual if Tsuna called him Kyouya. In fact, it looked like Kyouya preferred being called that name than the name that was associated with being the demon prefect of Namimori.

A yell caught Tsuna's attention as he was walking down the road. Tsuna looked to his left to see two suspicious looking me running after a small boy who was carrying a book half his size. A panicked look was the on the boy's face was all that Tsuna needed to motivate him to step in.

Using both Reborn and Kyouya's training in hand-to-hand combat, Tsuna had disposed of the men in less than a minute. They seemed more focused on the boy than Tsuna and he easily knocked out the first one without being spotted and took down the second one the moment he had turned around to see what had happened. The boy looked up at him fearfully, clutching the large book close to him. Tsuna smiled at him and held up his notepad that had the hastily scribbled words of, 'What's your name? Mine's Tsunayoshi, but my friends call me Tsuna.'

"Fuuta de Stella, but you can call me Fuuta." said the boy. "Thank you for saving me Tsuna."

'What were those guys chasing you for?' wrote Tsuna, frowning as he glanced over at the knocked-out men at his feet. They weren't going to wake up anytime soon.

"I make rankings, so a lot of people want me to work for them. I came to Namimori because I made a ranking a few days ago about you. You're Vongola Decimo's brother, right? Sawada Tsunayoshi is ranked number one for helping anymore that is part of his family. I was hoping since you're the Decimo's brother and you know Reborn that you could help me."

Tsuna nodded and held out his hand for the younger boy to grab. It looked like he wasn't going to be able to avoid Iemitsu after all – he had slipped past him by jumping out of his window instead of going out the front door. There was no way that he'd be able to avoid Iemitsu once the man figured out that he wasn't behind the locked door of his room and instead coming inside the house from outside. He'd question what Tsuna was doing, most likely, and Tsuna didn't like that.

Looking down at Fuuta, Tsuna made his decision. Whoever this kid was, he needed help, and Tsuna intended to protect him. He didn't know what this thing about rankings meant, but he was sure Reborn would know. Reborn knew everything about everyone.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"Tsuna, is that a bullet hole in your door?" demanded Reborn the moment Tsuna walked through the front door. Tsuna jumped, scared out of his wits for a moment. He hated how he couldn't sense Reborn.

Natsu, exhausted from his cliff climbing had collapsed into his bed long ago. It told Tsuna of how harsh Reborn's training session was if Natsu didn't bother to stay awake until Tsuna got home to tell him to do some sort of chore. While Natsu might have hated his twin, he also had the sense to take care of himself before inducing himself to his wants.

Tsuna looked at the door, his door, and saw what his meant or was talking about. Reborn, in his baby form, was just as intimidating as he was in his adult form, even if he didn't tower over Tsuna like a giant. He didn't know what to say. Tsuna doubted that telling Reborn a person had threatened to kill him, then almost shot him and left, saying that he'd be back later was going to be an accurate excuse.

Tsuna could imagine it now: Reborn pointing his gun at Byakuran's head, only to look away to see his apprentice dead on the floor. Reborn would likely go ballistic when he learned his blood donor had been killed, since Reborn hated to drink anything else but Tsuna's blood.

In a way, Tsuna viewed Reborn as more of a father figure than he did his own father. If he admitted it, Reborn would probably only smirk at Tsuna and say he knew that the entire time and Iemitsu would get angry at both of them. The fool of a father would then invoke Reborn's wrath, since it was known by everyone except the fool himself that Reborn held no like for him. So for Tsuna that meant telling Reborn about Byakuran wasn't a very smart choice, considering the fact that Tsuna doubted Byakuran intended Tsuna to tell anyone about his visit. Tsuna didn't want to risk dying just to tell Reborn about some stupid angel bastard that had invaded his room.

The hitman had been irritable lately, more so than usual Tsuna had noticed. Whether it was because the Varia was coming and Natsu wasn't succeeding in his latest training session, or if it was because he knew Tsuna was obviously hiding something from him but wasn't telling him, Tsuna didn't know. Either way it was bad, and Tsuna didn't want to get on Reborn's bad side.

Tsuna could tell this because Reborn acted the same way back when he was training Tsuna and Tsuna failed at whatever task he was trying to do. It could also be from the fact that Iemitsu was back and Reborn looked at him with a murderous glare every time he passed. Luckily, Iemitsu was more focused on Natsu not dying during Reborn's training than what Tsuna was doing. Unfortunately, people were trying to kill Tsuna despite him not being Vongola heir.

Tsuna had a feeling he wasn't going to be left alone – by Mukuro or Byakuran.

Mukuro wanted him to kill his brother so he would be Vongola Decimo and the new threat of Byakuran wanted Tsuna to join his famiglia – the Millefiore – or be killed along with Natsu. Tsuna's Hyper Intuition told him that Byakuran wasn't lying and that meant that Byakuran could fully well kill Natsu and himself if he wanted and no one would know any better about what had happened than Tsuna himself.

Tsuna feared what would happen when Byakuran returned.

He felt like a Mukuro at least had a tiny bit of loyalty to him and his threats weren't as real as they were meant to be. He hadn't talked to Mukuro lately, but if he wanted to, all Tsuna would have to do was go to Kokuyo. Even if Mukuro had a bad opinion about murdering the blonde twin, Tsuna was pretty sure he had convinced the illusionist not to.

Byakuran however hadn't known Tsuna for more than a few minutes and had landed a bullet through his door as a warning. It was either join the Millefiore or die. It wasn't like Mukuro, who seemed like he honestly didn't care what happened and just wanted to be entertained than Byakuran, who wanted to play a "game" – whatever that was. Apparently Tsuna was involved in it, a player, but he doubted this game of Byakuran was anything good.

Thinking about it, Tsuna considered telling Reborn. Reborn would surely know about Byakuran, seeing as he had been alive for a very long time. Byakuran had to be in the mafia, seeing as he was part of this Millefiore famiglia, but what his role was Tsuna had no idea, which meant to Reborn he went. Reborn would get the information, Tsuna was sure, but he'd be suspicious. Reborn would likely connect the dots to the bullet hole in his door and Tsuna's odd behavior, since Tsuna never asked Reborn for anything mafia related.

"Well, Tsuna, care to explain? I'm going to have to replace this with money I stole from your father's wallet." A small smile came to Tsuna's lips. So Reborn was getting revenge in his own way since now he had his target in the same house as him.

Natsu was hardly trained and Reborn knew that the blonde wouldn't be able to defeat Xanxus if they were in a fight that depended on flame power alone. Iemitsu knew this to, and he had been constantly pestering Reborn about it the few days he had been there – which was probably one of the times Reborn had stolen the man's wallet without him noticing. That was also the reason why Basil was there – to help Natsu reach Hyper Dying Will mode, since he couldn't enter it the same way Tsuna could considering his regrets were very few.

Though Reborn would enjoy if he could test the theory of seeing if he could activate Natsu's flame the same way he had Tsuna's, it was too much of a risk seeing as Natsu's Hyper Intuition was far slower than Tsuna's and if Reborn accidentally shot him because he was too slow, it would be treason.

'_It was nothing,' _ Tsuna said, moving his mouth so Reborn could read his lips, but not letting any sound out. Tsuna seriously didn't want to explain to Reborn that the moment he'd been left alone yet again he'd almost been killed.

"Don't give me that look. I know someone was in your room and tried to shoot you. Who was it?"

The brunet took a step back, only to bump into the person he had forgotten was there. Fuuta stood behind Tsuna, gripping the older's shirt tightly. Something obviously scared him about Reborn.

Tsuna quickly scribbled onto his notepad and held it up for Fuuta to see, writing, 'It's okay Fuuta. This is Reborn, my mentor. Please don't be scared. He won't hurt you like those other men that were chasing you.'

"O-okay," said Fuuta, stepping forward towards Reborn nervously. "hello Reborn. You're the world's number one hitman, right? My rankings have told highly of you."

"Oh," said an interested Reborn. "What have you heard about me?"

Fuuta was just about to answer where the door to Natsu's room opened and Lambo stepped out with a girl that wore clothes that certainly weren't Japanese. She had one lone braided ponytail on her head. "Tsuna-nii's home! Tsuna-nii, do you have any grape candy for the great Lambo-sama?"

Tsuna nodded and took out the requested item, and then threw the candy up to Lambo. Giving his signature laugh, Lambo took the grape candy and ran off further down the hallway with the strange girl followed him, yelling his name. Fuuta's face seemed to life up at the sight of the two children.

Fuuta pulled on the edge of Tsuna's shirt to get his attention. "Can I go with them?"

Tsuna blinked, surprised, but nodded. He didn't think anything too bad could happen, and by now he was used to random strangers appearing in his house – Bianchi, the girl, Lambo and Gokudera, and now Fuuta. He wasn't too concerned about Lambo's new playmate - as long as she didn't plan to ruin the wall separating his room and Natsu's at least.

Fuuta took off, carrying his large ranking book with him. He went to the guest bedroom upstairs where Lambo and I-Pin had run off to. Tsuna sighed. If only he could get Mukuro to come over to his house, or Nagi, and stay instead of living in the ruins of Kokuyo. The two Mists were his friends, albeit in an odd way. Nagi was very shy, and Mukuro nearly the direct opposite, but they got along well and Tsuna felt connected to them, just as he felt connected to Kyouya and Lambo. They were Tsuna's only friends. Reborn was more of his father than a friend. Natsu had always said that family and friends were different, and that family was only blood-relations, but Tsuna had to disagree.

"So?" said Reborn. "Talk – write, whatever. Give me an answer, now that we won't be interrupted."

Tsuna glanced down at his notepad, knowing he didn't need it. His throat was better – 'healed' in a sense – and he trusted Reborn. The worst had already happened, and Tsuna doubted Natsu would do anything else so soon since Reborn was watching him like a hawk.

"Byakuran," whispered Tsuna.

If Reborn was surprised as hearing Tsuna's voice, he didn't show it. It wasn't raspy or hoarse, and it was Tsuna's own voice. It was eerily similar to Natsu's, but softer. Reborn gestured for Tsuna to say something else, any more information that might tell him what the mess was Tsuna had gotten himself into this time, but Tsuna said no more.

Reborn held down his urge to kick Tsuna in the head, knowing it wouldn't make Tsuna say anything, and that if Tsuna didn't want to speak then he wouldn't. 'Byakuran' wasn't much to go off of.

"Is Byakuran the person that put a bullet through your door?" A nod. "Did he try to kill you?" Negative. "Then why is there a bullet hole in your door? Was he warning you, or sending a message?" Another nod. "What sort of message, Tsuna? If you don't tell me then I can't help you. I won't be mad at you, _mi apprendista. Non ti preoccupare."_

Tsuna stared at Reborn, and Reborn stared back. It lasted for a minute before Tsuna finally looked away, giving up. "He wanted me to join the Millefiore. He said...he would kill me and Natsu if I didn't. He also mentioned some sort of...game?"

Reborn's voice turned to steel, "Did you accept?"

Tsuna shook his head. "He said he'd come back for my answer. His threat – he was telling the truth. B-but I can't just let him do that. I can't let him kill Natsu, or me. It's not right."

"You're determined to protect your twin so far that you'd throw your life away for it and join some mafia famiglia that might completely destroy you? Are you truly that desperate, that foolish, apprentice?" snarled Reborn. "Think about it, dame-Tsuna. Don't make your decision on just your emotions and that stupid lie detector you've got in your head. Let me see if I can find out who this Byakuran character is. He's not an assassin – no assassin would reveal themselves to their target. He's likely planning to use you for something, or prevent you from doing something if he's asking you to join him. Are you sure he's a threat? You aren't lying to me about this, are you Tsuna?"

Tsuna shook his head. He was not lying. He wouldn't dream of lying to Reborn.

"Alright," said Reborn, hopping onto his apprentice's head. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**Take your guess, there's still going to be a Future Arc. This story sticks to canon, just loosely. **

**Since I'm curious, what's your favorite character in KHR? (can be from anime or manga)**

**.**


	10. Illusions

**Red**

**Chapter Ten**

A day had passed since Fuuta had entered the household, and the boy had already been given a spare room. I-Pin had started to call Tsuna 'gege', though when Tsuna asked about it Reborn wouldn't tell him what it meant. Basil had seen Tsuna and had been informed by Reborn to not interfere with him, and that if anything harmful came to Tsuna's direction that Basil was to defend him with his life or Reborn would kill him. Basil had become quite supportive of Tsuna rather than Iemitsu after that. Anytime Iemitsu came within five feet of Tsuna to try to talk with his son, Reborn would shoot him with his real bullets, instead of the dying will ones to scare him away.

The brunet had learned that his mentor was very protective over him. It almost scared Tsuna himself when the baby knocked out the usual bullies that came after him with a kick to the head or a pot. Not even Natsu had gone near him. Nobody wanted to get killed by Reborn now that he had shoved the responsibility of training Natsu onto Basil and Iemitsu since he had learned all that Reborn was willing to teach him at the moment. Iemitsu assumed that the hitman was being protective of Tsuna because the Varia was around, however he couldn't have been more wrong.

Reborn didn't care about the Varia. All the hitman wanted was for Tsuna to not die in some idiotic way by running off with Byakuran to help save his twin from death. It was stupid, in Reborn's eyes, but he knew now that nothing would change Tsuna opinion of what blood-related family was since it was the right thing to do, as Tsuna said.

"Reborn!" yelled a bruised, bloodied Natsu, storming into the room Tsuna and Reborn were in. "Iemitsu wants you. It's Vongola business, so Tsuna should stay out of it. Or at least, that's what the bastard said."

"I shall be taking your brother with me, baka-Natsu. Also, before you go attempting to kill Tsuna again," Natsu stiffened, eyes widening. "I would like to see you in the living room after we are done. I have a few things to say to you about your past behavior."

_I don't think that's a good idea, Reborn. _Tsuna thought. _What are you planning?_

"H-how-," Natsu was showing surprise for a moment, before his face morphed into an angry expression, his lips tight and his arm out, pointing at Tsuna. "You! I thought you would have learned by now you useless, pathetic brother! You told him something, you-you spoke again, didn't you Tsuna?"

Fear made Tsuna flinch. He was vulnerable, trapped in his near-empty room with Natsu blocked the entrance. That look Natsu wore was similar to the one he had when he'd cut Tsuna's neck open. A desperation of some sort was etched into Natsu's whole being, and Tsuna knew exactly why.

Natsu was afraid Tsuna had told Reborn why he had started to punish and abuse Tsuna - the reason why he had become angry – and jealous – at Tsuna's innocence and gentle self. Tsuna was just like Natsu's dead girlfriend – the one Tsuna had seen Natsu kill. It was also the reason why Natsu had given Tsuna the acidic drink that damaged his throat. Natsu couldn't have Tsuna walking around saying that it was his fault Sasagawa Kyoko was dead.

That was the reason why Natsu tried to kill him before and it was the reason why Natsu abused Tsuna. Sasagawa Kyoko, the person Tsuna hated more than anyone else. Tsuna had spoken, and Natsu was afraid that he'd revealed the secret of Kyoko's death. With the look on Natsu's face, Tsuna knew Natsu had assumed he'd told Reborn about her. Natsu would murder him, just like he believed he'd killed Kyoko. If he didn't assure Natsu he didn't say anything about it, he'd be killed, so he knew since his voice was restored and with Mukuro's illusion, he had to.

"I-I didn't tell him anything." said Tsuna. "N-nothing! I swear, nothing about her. Please Natsu. I would never tell anyone about h-her."

Natsu and Reborn paused in their glaring competition to look at Tsuna. Natsu's hand was only inches from Tsuna's throat, and Reborn's gun was aimed at Natsu's head. Reborn was about to question Tsuna on what the fuck eh was doing, but Natsu spoke before him.

"Don't you dare say anything more. Keep your mouth shut, dame-Tsuna. No use in hiding it now." Natsu's eyes flicked over to Reborn's before switching back to look at his twin, making sure Reborn wouldn't shoot him just yet. "If you tell anyone anything, I'll kill you, and this time I won't leave before you take your final breath." Natsu took his hand away from Tsuna's throat, but Reborn didn't drop his gun. "I'm no angel, Reborn," the blonde said, looking past Tsuna's fear-stricken gaze to Reborn, who was atop the brunet's head. "The only reason he's alive is because I allow it. He's mine, not yours to play with stupid tutor. You may have figured out a few secrets, but that's nothing compared to what the reasons are for them. You've figured out that I tried to kill Tsuna, well, congratulations!" His voice was sarcastic, and hardly held any enthusiasm. "Now leave it. There's a reason why Iemitsu chose me, and a reason why he didn't choose Tsuna. he's too weak for this world, he deserves what he gets and I won't let some stupid baby like you interfere. If it wasn't for you, dame-Tsuna would be dead and all my problems would be gone. Tsuna knows it too, don't you? You should have died that day, twin. It's your fault."

Tsuna was silent the entire time. Reborn still held the gun in his hand, for once not holding back his emotion. Reborn was furious, and the killing intent filling the room was what made Natsu step back, gasping. Natsu might have not been afraid of the gun, but killing intent was something he wasn't used to.

"I have on question then, baka-Natsu. If you hate your brother so much, so much that you'd even kill him, then why don't you tell me? What's the reason that was so important you had to make sure Tsuna could never speak again? Now that you've failed, are you going to try again, human brat?"

Natsu grinned a feral Cheshire cat grin at Reborn, leaning forward. "I'd beat him as many times as needed to make sure he doesn't say a word. I don't' know how the fuck your throat healed, but next time I get a chance I'll make sure not even the best doctors in the world can fix you, dame-Tsuna. And if you do tell anyone about what happened that day, you know what'll happen to you. I'm only letting you go today because you got lucky."

Tsuna sunk down to his knees, gasping for breath, shaking. He brought his hands up to his ears and covered them, curling up against the wall. He stared ahead, trembling, unable to stand. He didn't look up to see Natsu; he was trapped in his memories of the past, having a panic attack.

"If you touch him I'll put a bullet through your head, and if I can't do that then I'll drain you of all the blood in your body so that the Vongola won't be able to save you if you somehow survive the bullet. Got that, Natsuhiko?"

Reborn's eyes turned red for a instant, and the killing intent increased. It wasn't a small force either. Natsu had trouble standing. It was enough to make Natsu see the threat in front of him, and flee the room without another word. Reborn jumped off Tsuna's head as the boy moved away from the wall, shaken out of his attack, but still trembling, once Natsu had left. He had one foot out the window and was about to flee the house when Reborn grabbed his pant leg.

His savior and mentor looked like he was going to have a very harsh talk with Natsu when Tsuna left. Tsuna was fine with that. He just needed to get away – to run from it all and find himself again, before he turned into a mess of tears and a broken mind. He didn't intent to let himself die in an alley again, but knew if he stayed in the house any longer he would surely want to yet again. So Tsuna looked at Reborn, and Reborn nodded at him, and then Tsuna was gone.

Reborn frowned as he watched Tsuna jump off the roof and land on the ground, and then run. Tsuna didn't look back.

Leon licked Reborn's finger. The vampire glanced at his companion, and frowned. Whatever was going to happen from now on, he had to know what. He never failed a mission, and although humans were annoying he wasn't about to just give up. Tsuna would speak normally, and wouldn't be afraid of Natsu someday, and Natsu would grow into a strong man to become Vongola Decimo. One day they might become enemies, and perhaps Reborn counted on that day, but for now it wasn't meant to be. He still had to deal with Natsu's whining and Tsuna's fear.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Unlike Reborn had said, Tsuna hadn't been included in the meeting since a last minute problem came up that required Tsuna's presence. Since his vampire mentor knew better than to skip out on the fun of scaring the shit out of Iemitsu (and Natso) and tormenting him, the duty fell to Tsuna to go find on e of Reborn's fellow Arcobaleno comrades. Since this comrade (Tsuna used this term lightly, since he knew Reborn would deny having such a weakness as comrades) was I-Pin's master, he had let the girl join him.

Lambo and Fuuta had also tagged along. Luckily Fuuta had left his giant book at the house, or Tsuna wasn't sure they would be able to walk through town without getting some nasty looks.

While he was out of the house, Tsuna decided he would head over to Kokuyo Land as well to check up on Mukuro and Chrome. If possible he would make a few bento's for them too if there was time. He only hoped his other mentor didn't follow him purposefully to get into a fight with Mukuro. Kyouya hated Mukuro for intruding in Namimori and he hated the fact that Mukuro was the one that got at least a few sentences out of Tsuna rather than one word. He also hated Mukuro since he was the one that 'healed' Tsuna's throat and dared to touch his omnivore student. So thus was how the rivalry between Hibari Kyouya and Rokudo Mukuro started; over Sawada Tsunayoshi.

To Tsuna, Kyouya, Mukuro and Chrome were all his friends and both Mukuro and Kyouya were like older brothers to him, and Chrome the younger sister. If anything happened to Chrome, Tsuna couldn't promise that he wouldn't shoot the person that dared hurt her. He would always protect his family.

They reached the café in a short amount of time, and it didn't take long for I-Pin to rush off ahead of them to one of the tables and greet her Master. Tsuna followed after at a slower pace with Fuuta and Lambo. The two were talking about the possibility of figuring out how much stuff Lambo could hide in his hair; Fuuta wondered if it was a possibility to stuff things bigger than a grenade in the afro, such as his ranking book.

"Hello Tsunayoshi-san," said Fon, waving a hand towards the brunet as the group approached his table. "I assume Reborn sent you?"

Tsuna nodded.

I-Pin happily bowed to her master and made a reluctant Lambo do the same. Fuuta smiled and held out his head, which Fon accepted and shook, knowing this was the way Fon could now be included in Fuuta's rankings since he had touched him. It wasn't of Japanese culture, so Fuuta quickly bowed afterwards, explaining to Tsuna why he shook hands instead of bowing.

"So you're Reborn's apprentice? I'm quite curious, knowing Reborn - how did you convince him to train you? I've only heard rumors." asked Fon as he was carried in Tsuna's arms on the way to Kokuyo Land. Tsuna shrugged. He wasn't used to speaking to strangers just yet.

"Ah, Reborn told me that you don't speak often." said Fon. "Forgive me, Tsunayoshi-san. I suppose I should ask a more specific question. I heard from Lal and Colonello that Reborn kidnapped you and took you on as an apprentice because he saw potential. Is that true?"

Tsuna swallowed, and opened his mouth, hesitant to speak. Reborn had said that, but Tsuna knew that it wasn't the true reason Reborn claimed him as his apprentice, which Tsuna never actually approved of in the first place. Tsuna only knew how to shoot and punch. Reborn hadn't taught him the art of killing, like he would be expected to. Tsuna wasn't truly Reborn's apprentice in that sense; it was only a title.

"He...saved me." whispered Tsuna. "I couldn't say if it was...because of that, or something else."

"He saved you? Reborn did?" asked Fon, glancing back at the children trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. They were as just as curious as Fon as to what Tsuna meant. However it wasn't Tsuna who answered, for gravity lost focus and Tsuna yelped as his feet left the ground. Behind him, Lambo and I-Pin squealed in excitement and propelled themselves towards one another.

Tsuna stiffened, looking over at Fuuta. He knew what the loss of gravity meant near the boy. If Fuuta managed to do some random ranking about Tsuna, Tsuna knew it wouldn't end good.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi is ranked number one for knowing about the murder of Sasagaw-,"

"Fuuta!" shouted Tsuna.

It was surprising to both the others and Tsuna himself. The voice was harsh, and not unlike Natsu's in any way. The shout was enough to send them all tumbling back to the ground as Fuuta lost his concentration. His eyes were wide, as were the children's. They hadn't been used to Tsuna speaking, let alone yelling at them. Tsuna was at Fuuta's side in a second, hands gripping the boy's shoulders tightly.

"You didn't get the name, did you?" pleaded Tsuna, breathless. Fear was clear in his eyes, though for what none of them could say. "P-please Fuuta! You must not say that name ever again! Not to me, not to Natsu, not to anyone, never again. Do you understand me, Fuuta?"

Slightly stunned by the words coming out of Tsuna's mouth, Fuuta could only nod. The boy couldn't manage to get any words out of his mouth. The hands gripping his shoulder painfully dug into his shoulderblades.

Tsuna's crazed desperation disappeared in an instant. He let go of Fuuta and stumbled a few steps back, looking as if he'd been shot. He shook slightly. Fon, the eldest of them all, could easily tell that Tsuna was seconds away from collapsing in a panic attack and ushered them all forward.

"Promise me," Tsuna said as he slowly moved forward, crowded in the middle of the four with Fon silently sitting on his shoulder. "you'll never say that name again, please."

"I-I promise, Tsuna-nii."

With a dark look over his face, Tsuna looked at the ground as he walked. Past memories haunted him; of the bridge, of the night, of Natsu and the girl that had ruined his life. Everything was Kyoko's fault. It was Kyoko's fault that Natsu beat him. It was Kyoko's fault that Tsuna went through hell before Reborn found him. It was Kyoko who was the source of all his problems, the entire reason of every bad thing. If she hadn't died, things would have been different.

Yet, he couldn't blame the girl, not always. Tsuna knew that. Kyoko hadn't meant to die after all. There were other factors that contributed to it all, despite Kyoko being the catalyst of it.

Sasagawa Kyoko was Tsuna's curse. She haunted him even in death. The dark looks Natsu sent him were proof of that, as were the scars on his skin, hidden underneath his clothes. He couldn't bring himself to hate Kyoko, no matter how much he wanted to and told himself that it was her fault. He couldn't _not_ remember her beautiful smile, and the way she would grab both his and Natsu's hand and pull them along on her little adventures. She had in a way, after all, sacrificed herself to save Natsu, and that was something Tsuna couldn't hate Kyoko for.

Kyoko was the one that had let go of Natsu's hand. She was the reason why Natsu turned into the monster he was now – into a complete obsessive sociopath. However, at the same time, if she hadn't let go of Natsu, both her and Natsu would've died that day.

Tsuna didn't know which was better. Having Natsu with his screwed up mind, or having no twin at all and left completely alone in the world.

Tsuna sighed, getting his mind together, and erasing all traces of Kyoko's presence from his mind. He'd check on Chrome and Mukuro later; right now he couldn't handle trying to stay emotionally calm in front of the pessimistic Mukuro who would likely suggest he kill his twin again and take the position of Vongola Decimo.

"Are you alright, Tsunayoshi-san?"

"Aa..." Tsuna hummed. The brunet then nodded, holding back his tears with great difficulty. He held one hand out, offering to put Fon up on his head, where Reborn regularly liked to sit. Fon obliged; gaining his new position atop Tsuna's head without difficulty. "I am fine."

The walk to the house was a blur. Tsuna kicked off his shoes, barely noticing the look Reborn gave him when one shoe nearly hit him. Tsuna stumbled through the doors, and up the stairs, tripping more than once as he went to the upper level of the house. He wasn't aware of his surrounding, which Reborn was sure of, since he hadn't shown any sign of seeing Reborn glaring at him for having a shoe thrown at him.

Reborn raised an eyebrow quizzically at Fon.

Quicker than a roadrunner, Fuuta, I-Pin, and Lambo were gone, up the stairs and into Fuuta's guest room. Stuck between two Arcobaleno's was never a good thing.

"Fuuta made a ranking," Fon told Reborn. "It scared Tsunayoshi-san. Something about the murder of a Sasagawa; probably a family name. I don't know what's going on here, since I just got here, but, by the look on your face I'd say something very bad is happening that I don't want to get involved in."

"Yes. That's not good. Sasagawa; it's the family name of one of Natsu's guardians – his Sun. I'll see if anyone from that family has gotten killed within the last decade." said Reborn. "It seems we've got a murderer around here, and if my suspicions are right, I'll find out why Natsu hates Tsuna so much so I can keep them from killing each other."

Reborn pulled his fedora down, and looked at Fon closely. The Storm Arcobaleno smiled back, knowing that while not one of the Arcobaleno's could truly read Reborn, he at least could tell when Reborn was bothered by the way he moved his fedora.

"I need you to help train Natsuhiko. The Varia are going to murder him if he doesn't get the thought that he's invincible out of his head. I've taught him a special technique, but to do it he needs to get past the stupid habit his flames have with burning him, and I can't do anything to fix that." said Reborn, eyes shadowed by his fedora. "Now that Rokudo Mukuro is in town and hasn't made any movement, I'm suspicious. Tsuna has also been mentioned around him. There's also Byakuran Gesso who showed up threatening Tsuna, who's _supposed _to be in a war with the Giglio Nero. Just trying to keep Natsu from killing Tsuna is tasking, plus holding off all the usual assassins and those two is annoying. Add the Varia to that and I'm over my head of figuring out who to kill first. I would go back to training that brat Dino that deal with this mess. I blame Iemitsu."

Fon sighed. He didn't think anyone could contradict Reborn and live, and he wasn't about to try. The Sun Arcobaleno was right in a sense. Fon had known Reborn for nearly fifty years, and seeing the hitman so open to his emotions was just a bit unnerving. The last time Reborn had shown his inner feelings was when Luce had disappeared. To see him now like it, Fon knew a storm was coming.

"Be careful, Reborn." warned the Storm Arcobaleno, placing a hand on his own pacifier. He looked down at the cursed item with remorse. "Luce wouldn't want you to get yourself killed, or anyone else because of a misunderstanding. Value the lives around you; Luce would have loved the boy."

Reborn grunted, knowing what Fon spoke of. He didn't like it. "I'm no father, Fon. I'm a hitman. We never get attached to our targets or charges. I won't let something as stupid as a mistake kill me."

Fon smiled. "If you have convinced yourself of that so much that you believe it now, why is it that earlier I felt your emotion through the pacifier? You wanted to murder the Vongola, Reborn. For Tsunayoshi. For a man in your position, that is a dangerous mistake to make."

"Ah, but I'm not normal - you knew that best of all, didn't you Fon?"

Fon covered half his face with the long sleeves of his clothing. Reborn was sure a smirk was on his lips. "I don't know as much as you think, Reborn." he said. "The only thing I know for sure is that you aren't human – no human can survive a bullet to the head, after all."

From the dark look Reborn sent him, Fon knew things were far different than the outside world believed them to be in this chaotic house. A small laugh came from the Storm's throat, seeing Reborn's face.

"Do not worry, old friend. I'm the only one that's ever seen you. Just remember, don't let your emotions take control of you and make a mistake. You'll only end up regretting it."

"I know." spat Reborn, then, slower, in a whisper, "I know."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

The day of Reborn's sadistic revenge had come. He had shot Natsu with his tenth dying will bullet during a spar with Basil and had ended up with a disease that sent him running after Reborn with a newborn fury. Somehow, on the same day, a girl named Haru popped up and literally crashed into Natsu while he was running after Reborn. After seeing Reborn being chased by a half-naked teenager, Haru hadn't taken kindly to Natsu and slapped him twice and then picked up the vampire baby and asked where his home was. Natsu had been left far behind, still stunned from the slap he had gotten. The writing on his skin didn't cease, however, and the blonde quickly made his way back home in hopes of covering it.

Today was not a good day for Sawada Natsuhiko.

Fuuta was the one that opened the door since it was a Sunday and Tsuna was rushing to get his last-minute homework done. Nana was off somewhere or hiding in her room; the house's occupants had quickly learned to not question what the woman did or where she was since it only made Tsuna and Natsu more agitated whenever someone asked about her. Bianchi was out shopping for her cooking supplies.

Reborn was ruthless in training and tutoring. There were no bombs surrounding Tsuna while he worked on his homework, but there was a piano hanging above him ready to drop if Tsuna got one question wrong. Tsuna hated Reborn for it. Normal people didn't drop random objects on their apprentices for training. So Tsuna seethed quietly, working diligently.

He was surprised when a cute girl walked into his room with Reborn in her arms. Scrambling to push the girl out of his room, math homework long forgotten, he didn't see Reborn's planning smirk. Tsuna didn't want the girl to notice the piano hanging from the ceiling or the way there were bullet holes in his wall. Too many questions would be asked.

"Hello Tsuna-kun." greeted Haru. "I'm Haru, desu. You probably don't remember me but I was one of Kyoko's best friends. She told me a lot about you and Natsu before she died. It's nice to meet you. Your twin? Not so much, desu! How could someone so nice corrupt such a pure soul? How dare he, desu!"

Tsuna blinked.

This was not good.

Haru was one of Kyoko's friends. He had said the name. She had to get out, now. Tsuna clenched his hands into fists to stop them from shaking, and gave a tentative smile. "I-I'm sorry," murmured Tsuna. "b-but please don't mention her around N-Natsu or I. It's a forbidden topic around here. Also, where is Natsu...did something happen to him during training?"

"Haru slapped him twice. It was funny." Reborn told Tsuna. "Also, baka-Natsu is going to die in two days if Shamal doesn't come here, but he doesn't owe me anymore favors since I used my last one to get him to heal the stab wound that was poisoned."

"Hahi! Tsuna-kun was poisoned?" exclaimed Haru. "How awful!"

Tsuna was still attempting to process what had been said. Natsu had been slapped, which meant Natsu was going to be pissed, which meant more pain for Tsuna, which meant it was time for him to run while trying not to have a panic attack in front of a girl he hardly knew. Natsu was also about to die, apparently, which meant Natsu was going to be furious.

_What did you do, Reborn? I bet this is all your fault._

Reborn shrugged, easily reading the thoughts of Tsuna. The vampire smirked, and jumped out of Haru's arms into Tsuna's fluffy hair. Tsuna pouted as the vampire took his spot atop his head.

"So, who is this Kyoko you're talking about?"

Tsuna frowned. If Natsu heard them, he'd be dead and Natsu would be the one to kill him. Natsu would do anything to protect his secret. He had changed after Kyoko had died. He wasn't the younger brother with a cute baby girlfriend that was positive about everything in the world; he was gloomy, guilty, and very determined to keep the truth from getting out. He didn't call Tsuna 'Tsuna-nii' anymore. He didn't listen to Tsuna when Tsuna told him they had to walk a different way home just because his Hyper Intuition warned him there would be bullies on the route home. Natsu no longer believed in Tsuna. In fact, they never walked home together at all and Natsu was the one that told his bullies where his new hiding spot was or what route he was walking home that day. That was what caused Tsuna to be beaten up that night when Reborn found him – Natsu had told the bullies where Tsuna had been hiding.

Reborn, the man that was actually a vampire that needed blood so he wouldn't fall sick and die. Reborn, the Sun Arcobaleno, and the number one hitman that had claimed Tsuna as his apprentice. Reborn, who saved him. Reborn, the one that gave him a bed and shelter, food, water and a true home. Reborn, who cared what he did, unlike Nana who just ignored him.

"She's-," started Haru, but was interrupted.

"No-one." stated Tsuna. Reborn didn't pursue the topic when he took notice of the grave-sounding tone in Tsuna's voice. Haru frowned momentarily and then sighed.

"Well see you later Tsuna-kun, I hope we meet again sometime." said Haru, bowing to him and then going down the stairs. "Sayonara!" she yelled as she left through the door.

A light blush was hanging over Tsuna's cheeks, making Reborn chucked in a way that reminded Tsuna of how his adult form sounded. "Do you like her?" asked Reborn suggestively.

Tsuna shook his head. It wasn't that he liked Haru, it was that she reminded him greatly of _her. _Not only that, but Haru had mentioned her name; Kyoko's name. It made it hard to keep a straight face. A chuckle reached Tsuna's ears as Reborn disappeared into his room (likely to disable the trap he'd put up) and Tsuna gave out a breath of relief. The devil was gone.

Tsuna figured he might as well make some snacks for the kids, and started down the stairs. Lambo and I-Pin were sleeping, tired from their day of chasing each other around, and Fuuta was reading the rankings in his book presumably somewhere in the house.

Once Tsuna was steadily munching on a few crackers, the second Arcobaleno of the house appeared. Fon came walking in through the kitchen doorway, frowning. The brunet perked up, seeing the tense shoulders and other obvious signs that gave away that something stressful had happened to the Storm Arcobaleno. Learning from experience that he could be invisible if he wanted to, Tsuna tapped the counter to catch Fon's attention halfway through finished chewing his cracker that he had stuffed down his throat.

"Oh, forgive me for not saying hello, Tsunayoshi-kun." said Fon, lifting his head to look up at the short teenager. "I just saw something unpleasant is all. Nothing for you to worry about."

Tsuna nodded, going back to the crackers that he had laid out in front of him. Fon joined him moments later, asking if he could indulge himself in eating some. Tsuna happily complied, not liking how the look on Fon's face refused to disappear. Tsuna quickly swallowed the rest of his cracker.

"Tsuna."

Fon caught on quickly, a tiny bit surprised. "Tsuna-kun, then?" he asked.

"Mhm." mumbled Tsuna. It was a soft noise.

"What happened to you? That ranking...ah, forgive me, but when Reborn wants something he gets it." said Fon. "I told him about it. Is the reason why Natsu dislikes you so muc his because you know who Sasagawa Kyoko's murderer is and didn't tell him?"

The question came out of nowhere. Tsuna dropped the cracker he was holding onto and gasped, backing away into the kitchen counter, eyes wide. His chest tightened. "Something like that." gasped out Tsuna, bracing himself against the counter. He always had panic attacks whenever somebody mentioned Kyoko. He couldn't allow Fon to ask that question. He'd die. Natsu would _hear. _

"It's better to tell someone than to keep all your feelings bottled up, Tsuna-kun."

Tsuna couldn't breathe. _No, no, no, no, no..._

"If you have any problems, I am open to listening, Tsuna-kun."

Then, he was gone. Fon retreated up the stairs, and left Tsuna alone. The brunet stood completely still, panting. His breath came in short, shallow gasps. His neck seemed to ache, even though he was sure Mukuro's illusion was still there. It should have been impossible for it to hurt, yet it was only a phantom memory.

Tsuna wasn't ready for the knife that came straight towards him. He definitely wasn't ready when Natsu threw it, and he had no time to dodge when it went towards his neck. Only, instead of dying, instead of standing frozen in his shock in that few seconds of time, the knife went straight through Tsuna's neck.

Tsuna's eyes were wide.

In his ears, Tsuna could swear he could hear Rokudo Mukuro's faint laugh, like chains rattling ominously.

Natsu glared. He did seem quite bothered by the fact that his killing attempt didn't work. He looked slightly surprised, but not as shocked as Tsuna was, who just stared at him, uncomprehending what had just happened. The two stood still, only looking at each other. Then Tsuna slid slowly against the counter, down to the ground, and croaked out, "W-what?"

"You should be dead."

Tsuna couldn't process the fact that his twin had just tried to kill him again, and in an ugly sweater no less. He was sure this was all Mukuro's doing that he had survived. Yet he couldn't think about that now, because now they were both stuck in their places, unable to move until the other did. If Natsu moved, Tsuna would run, and if Tsuna ran, then Natsu would likely grab another knife and throw it at him. So they both stared.

It was then Tsuna was sure the laugh was real, coming from behind him, and then, there, stood Rokudo Mukuro, escaped Vendicare prisoner, looking absolutely, positively amused. The illusionist's arms wrapped around Tsuna's shoulder possessively, and Tsuna yelped.

"Kufufufu, you just can't stay out of trouble, can you Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Reborn only took a half a second to appear, suddenly standing on the table in between Natsu and Tsuna. He glared at Mukuro, pointing his gun at him. Fon followed closely behind, observing with sharp eyes from the doorway.

Nervously, Tsuna swallowed.

Today was not a good day for Sawada Tsunayoshi.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**If a song could represent this story, which song(s) would you pick that would relate to this story?**

**.**

Hate is a strong word. Can you say you hate Natsu while truly meaning it? Very sorry for the long time between updates. On Saturday I typed up 22 pages of homework stuff, on Sunday I had a family gathering, on Monday school started again, and today my sister just got out of the hospital and I've been trying to help her recover. Thank you for your patience.

**This is not edited.**


	11. Sasagawa Kyoko

**Red**

**Chapter Eleven**

"M-Mukuro?" yelped Tsuna, unprepared for the Mist's sudden appearance.

"From the way the knife is planted in the wall and how your dear twin looks as if he had just thrown something, I'd say he tried to kill you again and failed because nothing can break through my illusions, especially some stupid kitchen knife." said Mukuro. His grin was similar to what a person's would be if they had won the lottery. Tsuna knew it was an illusion – Mukuro couldn't just appear places out of thin air – but it was still frightening, because he knew Mukuro could do whatever he wanted, illusion or not.

Mukuro made a move to wrench he knife out of the wall but a bullet hit his hand before he could reach it. Mukuro glanced down at his hand, his grin diminishing. Reborn glared at the escaped Vendicare prisoner with the intention to kill him clear enough for all to see. "Mukuro Rokudo, what did you do to my apprentice, and why have you chosen to appear now of all times? I'm not going to play games with you, so speak quickly. You've all pissed me off now."

"Kufufufu, wouldn't you like to know, Sun Arcobaleno?" chuckled Mukuro, grabbing the knife and taking it out of the wall as he previously planned to do. He held it lithely in his hand, ready to use it at a moment's notice. "Wouldn't you say that this attempted killing is against mafia law? They are related, they both have claims to the throne-,"

Another bullet, this time passing harmlessly though the illusion's head, passed. Mukuro was not going to leave through empty threats, and had used his connection with Tsuna to sustain his illusion. Reborn could only guess that the illusionist was secretly putting a stronger illusion on Tsuna's neck since the knife flying through it likely disturbed it. Reborn hadn't seen anything like it; an illusion that looked real and felt real should by all accounts have been harmed unless the whole illusion was actually that of Tsuna's entire being, etched into his mind so that he believed and knew it was an illusion, and because of that knew that it wasn't real, yet also believed it to be real because he could speak. It would counteract the illusion if Tsuna knew it was an illusion, thus making it not work, but at the same time believed it to be true, which would make it a real illusion. It would make a fake, yet real illusion, allowing nothing to touch it, since it was fake and thus didn't affect anything around it, yet allowing Tsuna to speak.

There was only one other person Reborn had seen do such a thing. To make a real illusion was nearly impossible.

In any case, Reborn could see that the only thing that had kept Tsuna alive had been the illusion of a perfect looking, non-scarred throat. Rokudo Mukuro had been messing with his apprentice, and he didn't like it. An escaped Vendicare prisoner messing around meant the Vindice were coming, which meant Tsuna was likely to get involved since he would be considered part of Mukuro's group. However it also meant that Reborn owed Mukuro for saving his apprentice when he could not. It pissed him off, since Reborn didn't like to be owing favors to humans of all things. If he could kill the man and not be in debt, he would, but Reborn knew that firing bullets off at the illusion would do nothing but waste ammo.

He looked over at Natsu, since the blonde had yet to say any word. Natsu was standing, looking at the two across from him, with narrowed eyes. He looked at Mukuro with contempt. Apparently someone he didn't know who got near Tsuna was a no-no. Reborn would have to remember that.

"They both have claim to the title of Vongola Decimo, even if one wasn't picked officially, isn't that right Sun Arcobaleno?" mocked Mukuro. "Killing each other out of the Ring Battles is forbidden, isn't it? If there are three witnesses to an unfair killing attempt on another candidate for a boss position, laws must be upheld."

Reborn tilted his fedora down to let the shadow of it cover his tinted-red eyes. He heard the door open and sensed Iemitsu and Basil enter the house at the worst time possibly, and gripped the gun in his hand tighter. This was a mess, he knew. Natsu was backing away into the living room, knowing now was not the time to get angry or rebellious, and Tsuna was stuck with one of Mukuro's arms looped around his shoulders. Upon seeing Reborn and Fon posed defensively in the room Iemitsu and Basil approached carefully as they looked around the doorway.

"Restore your illusion and leave, murderer." Reborn said in a dangerously low, hitman voice that spoke of death and destruction. It was the voice that told people to say their last words before they were shot to death. "You'd better run as far away as possible once you leave, or I'll kill you without wasting more than one bullet on you. You're to worthless to waste more than one bullet on killing."

Mukuro's laugh was half-suppressed behind his hand. "That's what I plan on doing, Sun Arcobaleno. I don't see any advantage in dying today – I'm only suggesting that Sawada Tsunayoshi can challenge that child over there at any time for the position of Vongola Decimo, even if he wins the Vongola Ring battles now. He's broken mafia law now, kufufufufufu."

Fon remained silent. What Rokudo Mukuro said was true – since there were three witness who could see that it had been Natsu who had planned on killing Tsuna and had seen the way the knife was planted and the way he stood, they could not deny that the assassination attempt on a potential candidate by another candidate hadn't happened. Tsuna could challenge Natsu at any time for a duel now, not that he'd want to however, but it would bring the issue of Natsu's potential to the Ninth. The Vongola couldn't ignore such a thing or they'd be politically ruined if it ever got out that their heir tried to kill another candidate without trying to hide it.

With a mocking bow, Mukuro faded away.

The knife the illusionist had been holding clattered to the ground at Tsuna's feet. The brunet flinched. That knife could have killed him, he realized, it could have been his blood on the knife. He could have died – again.

"What is going on here?" demanded Iemitsu, walking into the kitchen past the two Arcobaleno.

Reborn's hand seemed to twitch against the trigger of his gun, even though he had lowered it, seeing Mukuro gone. Fon's smile came upon his face, only to fall at the sound of Iemitsu's voice. Tsuna looked like a drowned cat and Natsu, dressed in a thick sweater and oversized pants, looked content in hiding behind the couch like a scared alpaca.

"Natsu attempted to kill Tsuna; there were three witnesses that can safely say it was attempted by him. Rokudo Mukuro's illusions saved Tsuna from dying. Now Tsuna can take the position of Vongola Decimo, with or without your approval because of mafia laws." answered Fon, frowning uncharacteristically. He stepped forward towards Tsuna and then hesitated, taking in the young boy's terror that he held. He would likely lash out at anyone who came near. "This is bad."

Twins meant war. Only one twin was chosen, but the other could be a candidate if the chosen one died – or tried to assassinate them too openly. Once one went through the Inheritance ceremony they weren't supposed to lose the position until they died. Now that a Natsu had been caught in the act of attempting to kill Tsuna, Tsuna could challenge him for the throne of Vongola even if he went through the Inheritance ceremony. Plus if Tsuna claimed the right to challenge Natsu or said he wanted to be Vongola Decimo before Natsu went through the Inheritance ceremony, he'd be the twin allowed to inherit the throne and Iemitsu's argument about Natsu being officially chosen would be void. So in all seriousness, Fon knew, as well as did Reborn, that Tsuna could take over Vongola at any time as long as Xanxus didn't want to battle him since he'd have to take Natsu's place if he placed his claim in the Ring Battles. Of course, such a thing had to be verified by the witnesses, but considering Fon, Reborn and Tsuna himself along with the not-really-included Rokudo Mukuro could confirm it, Natsu would be in trouble.

Except both Fon and Reborn knew that would never happen, because Tsuna would surely violently protest fighting Natsu and becoming a mafia boss.

Reborn was going to get a headache – a worse one than he already had. He could just feel the migraine coming. An undefined ruler of Vongola, political crap that was going to get involved, Natsu and Tsuna, Rokudo Mukuro and Byakuran were all screwing up his plans. Reborn hadn't intended to fuck up this much. He didn't think it would be that hard to train one stupid arrogant human and get a good meal in the process. Instead he got a sociopath, one mentally unstable apprentice, Vongola's madness, and a headache.

Sawada Natsuhiko had the Skullitis disease and only had two days left to live, and had only acquired three guardians: Gokudera Hayato, Yamamoto Takeshi, and Bovino Lambo. Hibari Kyouya was a likely candidate, as was Rokudo Mukuro – except those two were tied to Sawada Tsunayoshi, the wrong Sky since he wasn't supposed to inherit. To top it all off, the Varia were at their front doorstep and ready to slaughter them all.

Natsu wasn't ready – he could go into Hyper Dying Will Mode with the help of Basil's pills, he could use his Zero Point Breakthrough, but he couldn't fight. Reborn had acknowledged that despite beating up Tsuna in the past, Natsu was shit at fighting and was too afraid to get hit to attack, and too weak to defend because he'd had no formal training earlier in life. Natsu hesitated far too much for Reborn's liking, and yet when it came to smashing his leg into Tsuna's ribs he did it without thinking. It was suspicious behavior; the only other person Reborn had seen unwilling to throw a punch and yet be able to kill another person without regret was Luce.

It irked Reborn to think about comparing them; but it was true how Natsu acted very similar to Luce.

One day, when they were still adults and all living together in the same house, the Arcobaleno were resting on their day off. Luce had gone off for a walk, and Reborn had followed her, since she wasn't supposed to leave without someone with her. Luce had been pregnant at the time, and highly dangerous. An assassin had gone after her – or more specifically, her unborn child at the time. Luce had snapped the man's neck in an instant, her eyes red, and then burned it without remorse. It was Luce's own bloodlust that she had lost control of in that moment, when her young baby girl Aria had been threatened. It was similar to how Reborn was protective of Tsuna in a sense. If someone actually did manage to kill Tsuna, and not just attempt to, he'd likely lose himself and brutally murder them.

Reborn didn't let delusion take ahold of him. Natsu would continue to try to kill Tsuna unless he did something. Just as Mukuro had proved, he could not be there every moment of every day to look after Tsuna. He'd come to the conclusion that Sasagawa Kyoko was the root of everything, and was the reason Natsu was so obsessed with Tsuna's secret keeping. He suspected that Natsu had killed the girl, and Tsuna had seen it.

"My son wouldn't attempt to kill anyone!" protested Iemitsu upon hearing Natsu had attempted to kill Tsuna. "You're lying."

Both twins flinched at that. Reborn wanted to sigh for not realizing it sooner. The reports told of how the girl ha dleaned against the railing of a bridge and had fallen when it had broken under her weight. She had fallen off the bridge and landed nearly two stories below with three poles from the railing impaling her and a bunch of broken bones. The fall hadn't killed her; she had lived a painful death. It was marked down as an accident, and never looked at again. If what Reborn knew was true, then Natsu had likely pinned Kyoko against the railing, mad at her or something, and the railing had broken under both their weight; which made more sense than just Kyoko having lightly leaned against it. If the theory was right it meant that by all accounts Natsu should have died as well. He should've fallen with her, or if he was far enough away, left hanging over the edge of the bridge. Yet if he was the one that pushed Kyoko against the railing, it also meant that he would have grabbed her when she had fallen, since that was only the natural human reaction.

If Natsu wasn't dead, it either meant that Natsu had let go of Kyoko or she, being the selfless person that Reborn had heard her to be, had let go of Natsu's hand and had willingly fallen to her death right in front of Natsu's eyes. Tsuna must have seen it all, which was the reason why he had been threatened to stay quiet and been rendered unable to speak.

A grim look came to Reborn's face. "Iemitsu, I do believe that is a lie. Sawada Natsuhiko has already killed someone."

Fon looked at Reborn with a warning look. "What are you-,"

"N-no!" shrieked Tsuna, standing up with a sudden grace Reborn didn't know he possessed, considering how many times the brunet tripped. "He didn't."

Just like that, Tsuna was trying to protect his twin; his family, again. Natsu swallowed audibly, slowly stepping out from behind the couch, knowing he was defeated. A wry smile was on his face. Tsuna wouldn't let go of his twin's secret and Natsu himself was condemned already in front of his father and Basil who had come onto the scene, who knew nothing of the whole scheme that had been playing out in the Sawada house for years.

The cold tone stopped Iemitsu from daring to say anymore when Reborn asked, "Then why are you so desperate to cover up your twin's mistake, _mi apprendista? _Fuuta's ranking proved it. You saw Natsu murder Sasagawa Kyoko, did you not? He beat you, and yet you still try to keep the secret you two have protected for years, all because of your stupid friendship-family games."

The blonde was about to nod, already knowing that the hitman would only make it worse now if he denied the truth.

Sawada Tsunayoshi, no matter how much his family hurt him and betrayed him, still believed in them. He was very alike to Giotto in that manner. Giotto, who was betrayed by Daemon, still considered the man family after he had tried to kill Giotto's best friend. It spoke volumes about what Tsuna would do to defend his family, if he ever became Vongola Decimo, which was why Reborn couldn't allow it. He'd be too perfect of a Vongola boss.

"I-I...the reason Natsu hates me is because I murdered Sasagawa Kyoko. I was the one that pushed her into the railing. I loved her, and I hated the fact that she chose Natsu over me...so I killed her. It was me, Reborn. I killed Kyoko – that's why I know how the murderer is. I was the one that killed her, so naturally I would know best who the murderer was. After all," a glint of orange was in Tsuna's eyes as the brunet spoke, and a lopsided grin on his face. "Fuuta's rankings are never wrong when it rains, right?"

It was in that moment Reborn decided Sawada Tsunayoshi was going to be the end of him.

It was silent for a few seconds before chaos erupted.

"M-my tuna-fish killed someone?" Iemitsu's face looked torn between tears and rage. The man wasn't the best outside view to have on the situation, considering his personal attachment.

Fon stared at the twins, analyzing each movement that could give a clue that Tsuna was lying. Yet, with orange eyes practically holding up a sign that he was tapping into his Hyper Intuition, the boy stood firm. It was hard to read him, but Natsu was a different story. Natsu, the one that hurt Tsuna, the one that tried to kill him, the one that had already fallen into despair, looked as if someone had slapped him.

Natsu didn't know how to react. His brother - his twin – that had no reason to help him, saved him in the only way he knew: sacrifice. Tsuna, his twin, who he had tried to kill to keep Kyoko's death a secret, had sacrificed and taken blame for something that had ruined his life.

Basil looked confused. His eyebrows were drawn in, and he looked like he had wanted to say something, but was holding back. He hadn't imagined that the two innocent sons of his master that he talked about constantly had murdered someone. Now there was only the question of who was the one who did it. Luckily the children were asleep upstairs, since otherwise this, 'I killed Kyoko' and 'No I did' business would've been a lot more messy. If Nana was there, there was no telling what would happen – or if Bianchi showed up. The ingredients to Bianchi's dishes were very rare, so the likelihood of Bianchi coming through the front door at the moment wasn't a high possibility.

"Tsuna," said Reborn in his hitman-about-to-kill-you voice. "are you lying to me?"

"Am I? I don't know." Replied Tsuna, the wry smile still plastered on his face. His eyes were orange, and Reborn could see that Tsuna was keeping all his effort to not give up to his nervousness and reveal anything. It was a dying will to protect his brother, it seemed, or at least half of one. There was no sky flame around Tsuna.

"What are you trying to do, Reborn?" demanded Iemitsu, trying to sound threatening but failing (nobody could intimidate Reborn except a vampire Luce on her period after all).

"Natsu, did your brother kill Sasagawa Kyoko?" asked Fon. "Or do you not know?"

"I..." Natsu glanced at his twin – the person that had defended him and the one that owed him nothing. He saw that if it wasn't for Tsuna, Reborn probably would have killed him by now. If it wasn't for Tsuna, he'd be facing a couple of mafia people who would say he couldn't become Vongola Decimo since he had 'murdered' Kyoko. They'd condemn him to prison at the first chance they got so that the more favored son could become Decimo – Tsuna.

Everyone loved Tsuna, not him. If Tsuna said jump they'd jump before asking how high without a second thought. The only people who believed in him were Yamamoto and Gokudera, and they had already seen the clues pointing to this – but they still accepted him and all his sociopathic tendencies with open arms. Natsu would've liked to deny it – he wasn't weak and he didn't need people – but he couldn't. Natsu wouldn't deny that he had done some bad things, or at least, what other annoying people in the world saw as 'bad'. If someone defended Natsu, just as Tsuna was doing now, he'd be seen as weak, he'd believe it himself. Kyoko was weak, and that's why she died. Natsu knew he wasn't weak. He couldn't allow himself to be.

Natsu was strong in his own right. While Tsuna had his selflessness and compassions, Natsu had his pride and quick-thinking. He wasn't as easily swayed by threats as Tsuna was. If one of Tsuna's significant people were in danger, like the situation Natsu was in now (though Natsu was baffled by this since he had done nothing but abuse Tsuna, and he wasn't weak and didn't need to be defended – it was stupid of Tsuna to think that he needed protection anyways) Tsuna was jump to defend them straight away without thinking about the consequences.

Natsu was different. He thought things out, he tricked and manipulated others for his own benefit, but he also had morals. They just weren't morals that were particularly high by other's standards.

Letting his twin take the blame for his mistake was not okay in Natsu's books. He wasn't weak and fuck all those who thought he needed to be defended for something that he'd done. Tsuna was not going to win and neither was Reborn, Natsu decided, because he was. He had avoided it for so long and he supposed this karma. It was Sasagawa Kyoko haunting him.

"Tsuna didn't push Kyoko. He didn't kill her, he didn't push her off that bridge. I did. Well, no," he had a flat face, and his voice was deadpan. Natsu wasn't stressed out in the least. Tsuna was another case, however. He looked so distraught – he looked ready to tackle Natsu to the ground if he said another word. Natsu smirked at him. "Kyoko let go. She didn't just fall, I caught her, but she let go. She didn't want me to die with her. I suppose it is my fault in that sense, but I blamed Tsuna for not moving in time to grab her. He tried to stop me, Kyoko ran to him crying, but I pushed him out of the way and she fell into the railing. I didn't want Tsuna to go talking about how I had been the cause of her death and so I silenced him. After that, I've always hated that stupid look in his eyes."

Natsu's nasty smirk widened. He knew he was a great actor. His voice become more sinister and he talked, "So I hit him, because he looked just like her when all she did was smile and let go of my hand. He's the same – weak and sacrificial. I wanted to get rid of that stupid look, but no matter how many times I tried to get him to fight back, to be stronger, he'd still have that same damned pitiful look in his eyes as if he actually felt bad for me."

"You know what Tsuna?" asked Natsu, walking closer to Tsuna, to stand beside Reborn, who stood on the kitchen table. He grinned. "I don't need your pity. I don't need you to protect me. There's no use in hiding it anymore." Natsu rolled up the sleeve of the sweater he was wearing and the words were as clear as day written across his arm.

**Kyoko Died For Me**

It was logical for the Skullitis to show that. It was a shameful act for Natsu to have to have been saved by another person who gave up their life to do so. It was enough proof for Reborn, and for the others who knew of the disease such as Basil and Iemitsu (if he pushed past his denial to actually see the truth).

The hitman's fedora shadowed his eyes as he spoke, aiming his jabbing words at Iemitsu, "See, you good-for-nothing father? He admits it. Is this the kind of person you want as Decimo? One who admits to being at fault for the death of a person he loved and who attempted to kill his twin?"

"No! Natsu didn't kill Kyoko!" protested Tsuna, tears coming to his eyes. "He said she let go! It's her fault! Please, Reborn, I-I don't want to be a mafia boss. I-If you punish Natsu, then I'm going with him. He has to be Vongola Decimo, remember? Otherwise I...I won't be your apprentice, a-and you know what that means. S-so there!"

"Tsuna, please reconsider," said Fon. "it's dangerous to say that."

"Y-yes, Sawada-dono!" added Basil. He jumped out from behind the doorway and moved past Iemitsu so that the two twins and Reborn could see him. "You cannot threaten Reborn – if he accepts and you lose his protection over you you'll easily be killed by assassins! The Vongola can't stop them all."

Iemitsu was pale. He was certainly going to faint soon, hearing words about his tuna-fish and goody-two-shoes Natsu. Being gone for a years changed people, but Iemitsu hadn't realized exactly how much his two sons had changed. If only Iemitsu had paid attention to Lal's warnings, he might have lived to tell the tale.

"Dame-Tsu-," Reborn as quickly cut off from his threat-to-be by Natsu.

"Don't...don't do this for me, Tsuna. I'm not worth it. Just look at yourself, you idiot." said Natsu. "I'm the one at fault. I tried to kill you. Stop trying to save a person that could never understand you! You stupid brother!"

"I won't abandon my family!" shot back Tsuna, forgetting the audience in the room rather quickly. "I won't let you be condemned for something that's my fault! You were right! I should have been the one that fell! I should've been the one to jump in front of Kyoko, the one to have been shoved against the railing, or at least have helped you! But I didn't, and that's my fault!"

"I hate you!" shouted Natsu, stepping forward and grabbing the collar of Tsuna's shirt and lifting him to his feet, shoving him into the counted. "Stop trying to defend me!"

In response to this action, Tsuna, facing his twin without looking one bit scared and instead majorly mad, grabbed the front of Natsu's ugly sweater and pulled him forward. "If you hate me so much, then why are you defending _me_?" countered Tsuna. "Just stop! I don't want you to get hurt and I won't allow you to hurt yourself just because you think it's fair! You're family!"

Natsu and Tsuna glared at each other; Natsu's hazel eyes amber and Tsuna's previously brown ones orange.

A bullet landed in between them, enough to convince the twins to move away from each other so they wouldn't get shot. The vampire-hitman glared at them, unleashing a big enough killing intent that sent the twins into a petrified state of shaking and gasping for breath. Basil yelped, unprepared, and Iemitsu and Fon were used to it enough that they could withstand the pressure Reborn gave off.

"Shut up." he ordered.

No one dared to speak.

"I don't' care who killed the girl. I don't care if you hate each other. One of you is going to be Vongola Decimo whether you like it or not. Xanxus isn't an option." growled Reborn. "So stop acting like a bunch of six year olds or I swear on my life you _will_ regret going against me, Sawada Tsunayoshi and Sawada Natsuhiko."

Natsu swallowed. "Yes Reborn." He said like an obedient puppy. He backed away from Tsuna.

Brown bangs covered Tsuna's eyes, shadowing the orange tint they had. He stood silently, fists clenched at his sides, but whether he was ashamed or frustrated still Reborn didn't know. The amber in Natsu's eyes faded to a dull hazel. It was odd; the twin's ability to tap into their flames for a few minutes, but it only made those around them more curious.

"Now," said Reborn. "your secret is out. I know why, and so do they." He gestured to Iemitsu, Basil and Fon. "So it's done and over with. We've got other matters to think about now that you've had your temper tantrum finished. The Varia are coming to kill you. Once they make their move and confront you, the Ring Battle will start. You may have good stamina, Natsu, but you need to work on your strength. Also, Tsuna," the brunet lifted his head as his mentor spoke his name. "I haven't trained you in a while, but don't think that means I'm going to go easy on because I'm stuck in this form."

The timid brunet nodded. His throat ached. Although his vocal cords were fixed by Mukuro's illusions, and should've have been able to feel pain, that didn't mean that yelling after not talking for a few years wasn't going to hurt. It reminded him of when Reborn bit him and he had spoken for the first time since his vocal cord had been damaged.

The part where Tsuna had been stabbed and poisoned hurt more at the time. So did the part where Reborn had shot the assassin in front of him and he'd had nightmares about it in the nights following the death of a man who he didn't even know the name of. Tsuna always tried to forget the dead eyes of the man, but it still haunted him.

Tsuna heard the shuffling of feet as Iemitsu attempted to keep himself standing – and failed. Before the father of the twins could do anymore damage Fon had jumped up and hit the back of the man's neck to knock him out. Basil barely managed to catch his master.

Fon sighed. He was physically and emotionally drained and he hadn't been at the Sawada house for more than a day.

"Basil, if you could please place Iemitsu on the couch that'd be great." said Fon, taking control of the situation since Reborn looked too pissed to and Tsuna was out of sorts and Natsu had only had eyes on Reborn's chameleon in case the baby decided to shoot him.

Basil moved to life his master up by his arms but was stopped by Natsu, who spoke a loud, "No."

_Natsu? _thought Tsuna. _I suppose he wouldn't like Iemitsu in the house now, considering all that he's done to abandon us and okaa-san._

All those besides Tsuna gave Natsu their own personal ways of showing their annoyance and confusion at his way of stopping the progress made. Natsu paid them no mind, and instead explained to Basil what his reasoning way for denying Iemitsu a place on the couch.

"I don't want him here. He's wasting the money kaa-san has by getting drunk off all the beers she has to buy for him, which is the only reason she's even come out of her room now. This isn't his house. And because kaa-san isn't here, the eldest should decide and that's Tsuna. I don't want him here. Do you, Tsuna?"

Without hesitation, Tsuna shook his head. Natsu smirked.

"See? We don't welcome him here. Go toss him out on the street or take him to a hotel. Basil, you can stay here after you drop him off. You helped cook last night, so you're helpful. _He's _not."

Basil looked to Reborn, since he seemed like the authority figure of the house for confirmation. The hitman shrugged, showing the twins that he didn't care what they did to Iemitsu. Basil looked malcontented for a moment, but complied, knowing it would be bad to go against the future Vongola Decimo, however that might be. To Basil, he could see that even if the truth had come out about the Sawada family, they could never fully recover. The behaviors of the past would always haunt them, no matter if the twins had forgiven each other and Reborn got the whole Vongola Decimo problem sorted out. The fact still remained that if Mukuro's illusion was broken, the scar on Tsuna's neck would never disappear, his voice would never come back and it would always be a natural reflex to flinch and shy away whenever someone raised a hand to his face.

Natsu would have to deal with the guilt of knowing what he had caused. Tsuna would have to accept that his brother had changed, or at least admitted what he'd done so that hopefully now he'd change, and he'd have to deal with these things himself. It would always remind them both, no matter how either twin tried to avoid it.

Basil would soon serve, and pledge his loyalty, life, and honor to one of these broken twins in front of him. He knew that, but until then, he'd act as a friend, not an advisor. He'd help them, both Tsunayoshi and Natsuhiko, because that was the right thing to do. If anything, he knew how much they grieved. He had been like the son of Iemitsu, his master, had 'never' had. He saw the looks Natsu gave him in the sparring sessions as if the other felt he had something he needed to prove. The way Natsu had such a face when he could never actually continue through with the punch in their training sessions – and Basil was sure this was noticed by Reborn.

Different from Natsu was Tsuna. Basil didn't know what to think of the damaged boy, besides the fact that Tsuna was Reborn's apprentice – or so Reborn claimed. Since Reborn had left his mansion, he never trained Tsuna personally. The hitman let Hibari do that, and the carnivore teenager was merciless, and Tsuna was meek compared to the prefect. Yet, if it came down to Basil sparring with Tsuna, he didn't think he'd win. Tsuna's hand-to-hand combat was very skilled, and he thought about what he was going to do in a fight before he made a move. Of course, going against Hibari Kyouya did require an advanced understanding of how battles worked (because Hibari Kyouya did _not _spar, he bit people to death).

So Basil dragged his master out the front door and left him in the yard behind a few bushes so that he half-drunk man wouldn't disgrace the lovely Nana's reputation (no matter how little it was).

All things could not stay good forever. The appearance of Dino Cavallone knocking on the front door proved it. Reborn was annoyed, and as Dino walked through the door with Basil leading him in, looking ill, he had no more patience. Dino didn't see the piano until it was too late.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**Enter Dino, a mess of clumsiness in itself.**

**Little Tsuna got mad, yay. Time to celebrate!**

**IMPORTANT: **What do you think Natsu's number should be? I was thinking somewhere along the lines of 72, 07 or something else (suggestions?) Thanks~!

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Not edited. Will edit later once I get out of school.


	12. Lend a Hand?

**Red**

**Chapter Twelve**

Dino had bandages wrapped around his head, courtesy of Romario. Reborn was silently drinking his bloody espresso, glaring at Tsuna, Fon sat beside him, a comforting presence in the room filled with tension. Tsuna sat on the edge of his bed, and hadn't said anything for the last ten minutes, not wanting to anger Reborn. An angry Reborn was worse than the devil itself.

Lambo was running around the room, chased by I-Pin. They seemed oblivious to the glaring and nasty looks that were being sent around the room. Bianchi stood at the doorway, arms crossed, and leaning against the frame of the door. She had a frown on her face, looking at Reborn, then at Tsuna, and then back again, wondering what was going to happen. Fuuta sat in the middle of the room, not in between Reborn and Tsuna, but close enough that if something did happen he could get in between the two. His huge ranking book was a good wall to put between people if needed. Basil stood at Dino's side, who sat against the wall and had nothing but determination on his face. Whether it was determination to find out what had made him get smashed by a piano, or to find out the mystery that no one but the current people living inside the Sawada house knew, no one but Dino and Romario would know.

"Are you ready, Fuuta?" asked Fon. Fuuta nodded.

Natsu lay on Tsuna's bed, just behind his twin. Tsuna twitched at the slightest movement he saw from the corner of his eye, clearly not trustful of Natsu to be in back of him where he couldn't see him. If they had been in this situation just an hour ago, Natsu would've likely tried to suffocate Tsuna with a pillow. Being behind Tsuna didn't help either of them, but both knew it was needed, since if Tsuna wasn't in front of Natsu Reborn would shoot the blonde twin.

It took a few moments, but Reborn got what he wanted – or so he thought. Fuuta hesitated.

"Well?" demanded Natsu. "I'm not going to sit in this boring room all day just because I want to."

"the ones most likely to be Vongola Decimo are..." Fuuta paused, eyes widening. The gravity that had lost its hold on everyone in the room faltered for a moment and Tsuna squeaked when Natsu grabbed onto his shoulder to stop himself from falling on Tsuna. "Sawada Natsuhiko and Sawada Tsunayoshi...through joint leadership...?"

"What." Bianchi didn't sound amused in the least - more like irritated.

"B-but that's impossible! The Vongola never has two bosses – they'd never allow it. The Ninth can't give both of them a Sky Ring, there's only one!" yelped Dino, kicking off the wall and moving forward towards Fuuta, peering at his ranking book. "Are you sure?"

Basil answered for the ranking prodigy, "It isn't raining. It has to be." he said calmly. He had known this could be a possibility from the start. While his intuition wasn't as strong as Tsuna or the Ninth's, it was still there as a sort of instinct or sixth sense.

"Interesting." murmured Fon. He has his hands hidden by his two long sleeves, folded together. "I didn't expect that ranking."

Sensing the pause in atmosphere, the two children running around the room stopped. I-Pin bonked Lambo on the head when he tried to start his Lambo-sama speech and scolded him. The two children then looked at their big brother Tsuna, trying to read him to see what was going on. I-Pin was better at Lambo as assessing what people were feeling, and stayed silent once she had assessed the situation, and made Lambo do so as well.

Reborn didn't know how this was going to work. He tried to think of the possibilities in his head, but nothing seemed to work. No famiglia had two bosses, especially not the Vongola, and it was only recently that the Vongola had had a female boss, which had caused a great uproar in the underworld. Vongola Ottavo, aka Daniela, had taken the underworld by storm, quickly proving that she could be just as strong as her predecessors. Two bosses of a famiglia wasn't common in current times, Reborn knew, but in the past it had been a practice a few families took up if the famiglia was too far spread to be controlled by one person. That problem had been fixed however with the invention of cell phones and the internet, which was a reason it went out of practice. Usually it ended in two different mafia families as well, which was another reason why.

Reborn was curious, so when the cow took out his ten year bazooka to shoot himself with after crying about I-Pin scolding him, Reborn kicked it. Tsuna, with his Hyper Intuition like no other, dodged, but Natsu wasn't so lucky.

In a poof of pink smoke sat a Giotto-look-alike – or so what they'd all expected. This was not the case, for instead of blonde hair, a brown-haired stranger lay on the bed. The older-looking Tsunayoshi-except-not-really was bleeding, a gash in his left side, and looked quite surprised. The cold that had entered the room when Natsu had been shot with the bazooka quickly subsided. TYL Natsu had been in a battle, considering his wound.

Natsuhiko gave one look at the room and said in a sarcastic voice, "If Yuni doesn't kill my younger self, I'm so going to get that money Kyouya owes me. I told him this would happen but no, he doesn't believe me and insists I go chase after my suicidal brother who just makes it his life purpose to chase after Byakuran. Yes. Lovely. Now then people, would you mind telling me what's happened so I know where I am in the timeline?"

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"Ah-," Natsu's yell was cut short as a girl landed on top of him, causing all the air he had in him to be sucked out. "Ow, stupid girl! Who the hell falls on people like that?"

Yuni's eyes widened. She had been lunging at Natsuhiko with the intents of killing him and taking his blood, but this did just fine as well. She still had emotion, but she had the stupid drug in her system which forced her to follow Byakuran's orders as well. Her vampire blood knocked away a lot of the side-effects of the drug, but her resistance to it was getting weaker. Yuni stared at Natsu, baffled.

She had been ordered to kill Natsuhiko, the Vongola Decimo, but to her knowledge this Natsu wasn't the Vongola Decimo which meant for a newly happy Yuni, she didn't have to follow the order any longer since she had just found another loophole through one of Byakuran's orders.

"Y-you-,"

"My name is Yuni," the girl spoke quickly to Natsu, grabbing onto his shirt (ugly sweater) and lifting him up as if he weighed nothing. She kept hold of him. "Please forgive me, but I'm dying."

Natsu was not prepared when the girl bit him. Nor was he prepared for when the dizzy light-headed feeling came and he stumbled back. Yuni quickly grabbed him again to keep him from falling to the ground, looking worried.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, sorry. I just haven't had blood in so long oh-," Yuni suddenly looked Natsu in the eyes, as if realizing something. "Don't tell anyone, please! Especially not Uncle Reborn!"

Yuni reached with one hand and grabbed the bandages that were wrapped around her left arm. She unwrapped them, and then wound them tightly around Natsu's neck, hiding the bite wound and blood. "I'm sorry I can't heal it. I don't have Sun flames, Natsu-kun. Tell your friends you go grazed by a bullet, okay?"

Natsu was still trying to figure out what the fuck had just happened to him. Yuni started to feel even more guilty and she shook him by his shoulders worriedly as he fell backwards slightly again, loosing balance. Blood dripped off her chin – his blood, Natsu saw. He could faintly feel the pulse of pain from his neck that the bite had left him with.

"I'm Yuni, and I'm a vampire. I'm your enemy in the future." said Yuni. She lifted her foot and showed the bullet wound in her ankle. She pulled out the bullet and let Natsu see as it healed in seconds. Blondie paled. "If I don't get enough blood, I'll die. I'm put under a drug by Byakuran so that I can't disobey his orders. Please, whatever you do in the future, don't trust him! Don't trust the Millefiore!"

It was the last thing Natsu heard before he poofed back to the future.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"So what do you want to know?" asked Natsuhiko, leaning back against the wall, still on Tsuna's bed. He didn't look very happy with Reborn's gun pointed at his face, or the wound that was continuously bleeding that he was unable to properly bandage because of Reborn's hissy fit.

"Is Fuuta's ranking true? Do you and Tsuna both rule as Vongola Decimo?" hissed at Reborn. He shifted the gun up towards Natsuhiko's forehead. "Answer quickly or I shoot you."

Natsuhiko sighed. "We act as one person," was his vague answer. "next question?"

"Show us the Vongola Sky Ring," demanded Reborn. "as proof that you're Vongola Decimo and not lying."

Natsuhiko looked up sharply, glaring at the hitman. "No."

"No?" Reborn had passed the 'I'm pissed off' stage and was now onto his 'I'll kill anything that moves' stage. "And why is that?"

"Tsuna and I each wear half the sky rig. However, there can't be double of something that powerful in one timeline. It disappears from existence every time I'm sent to the past since its only half the ring, and not powerful enough to contrast again the Ninth's full ring. Or so I'm guessing. It most likely got transported back to the other half with Tsuna now that I got transported here which means you all fucked me over since Yuni was about to murder me and I only have one more A-class ring with me."

"A-class ring?" asked Dino.

"A future invention. Rings break easily when I use my Zero Point Breakthrough. Only the Vongola Ring could withstand it."

"So you do learn it? Giotto's full version?"

Natsu looked at Reborn suspiciously. "Don't you already know this? Yes. My flames are like little rebellious children and is an asshole to deal with so I just use ice instead. My talent is ice, Tsuna's is his flames. Now, are you weaklings happy? I've got a battle to go back to in thirty seconds."

"W-wait," Tsuna whispered, and then louder, "am I...are we...fine?"

Natsuhiko peered at Tsuna. "Don't get yourself killed by Byakuran, dame-Tsuna."

It was the last thing they heard from TYL Natsuhiko before the man disappeared in pink smoke. Then there was Natsu again, a bloody neck wrapped in bandages. His eyes and body language showed something had upset him greatly.

Tsuna glanced at his mentor. The strange words about their new threat didn't sound too well. Byakuran was more of a problem in the future than it appeared, it seemed. Tsuna could only hope that Natsu and he survived – and judging by the bloody neck and strangely shocked expression on Natsu's face, Tsuna doubted it would happen.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

For the next few days Natsu trained intensely under Reborn's command, along with some side-help from Dino and Basil. Iemitsu had been kicked out of the equation. Tsuna, whose training had been resumed, was what Reborn called, "Testing your Hyper Intuition by trying to kill you, crash course." In Tsuna's opinion, he'd rather go back to the peaceful mornings when Reborn had mainly focused on training Natsu instead of him. Injury did help him a little bit, giving him time off the physical part of training called running like hell.

Dino had expressed his worries in a serious manner after seeing the attempted assassination against Tsuna versus Natsu's one-ton hammer wake up call. Dino had no right to rule over them like he knew them, since he did not, but he did have a sense of justice that even Reborn couldn't escape when the blonde was determined enough.

"Reborn," said Dino one morning after watching Natsu fall down the stairs, most likely from the harsh hit landed to his head that had sent his vision spinning. "you can't keep doing this. If Tsuna doesn't sense it or move fast enough it could seriously kill him with your killing attempts, and Natsu going to get brain damage by the time you're done with training him!"

Reborn, playing the innocent baby act, had replied with, "He's by apprentice and the other is my student. I can do what I want with them. The Ninth gave me free rein with Tsuna's training as well."

Needless to say, Natsu had paled at how viciously Reborn 'woke up' Tsuna compared to his one-ton hammer wake up once he saw it. It was obvious that for some reason Tsuna had inherited the more powerful Hyper Intuition (or had been in so many near-death situations that it had been honed more than Natsu's own Hyper Intuition). Bianchi had once theorized the reason was because Tsuna had been born first, and thus, his Intuition had awakened before Natsu. Add that to the past events of bullies and abuse and assassins that Tsuna had gone through, it was a guessable answer to the question of why his Hyper Intuition was like it was.

When the younger twin had arrived back from the ten years in the future trip, the group of mafia folks hadn't been surprised. A quick explanation about a bullet and everything was back to normal, except that Natsu refused to take the bandages off or let Reborn heal him. Considering that Reborn would like take it as an excuse to burn Natsu than heal him, it was a wise choice. Natsu didn't want Ryohei anywhere near his house, so calling him was a no-no. Gokudera was the only one that might have been the safest to heal Natsu, but the bomber wasn't the best to heal it since Sun flames weren't his primary flame.

Since the explanation about Kyoko, Natsu had grown tolerable – which really only meant the daily abuse stopped. He was still an asshole and the complete opposite of a hero/vigilante-complex. The snide remarks still conquered Natsu's speech patterns.

"Natsu!" shouted an unwelcome voice as a cheerful and luckily sober man burst through the front door. The door slammed against the wall as it was flung open. "Papa is home!"

Gokudera dropped a glass at the loud entrance. His shoulders tense, the bomber reached for his weapons and scowled, ready to blow up the idiot that had walked through the front door like he owned the place – which he technically did since Nana paid for the house with the money he sent her, but that was only the small details. A hand stopped him from lighting the bombs in his hand when Tsuna laid a hand on his arm.

"Tsuna-sama?" asked Gokudera. From the kitchen table, Natsu snorted, leaning against his hand, propping his head up. He rolled his eyes. He likely had no preference for whether or not Iemitsu was blown up.

"Just let him blow up the bastard." he said. "Not like anyone will miss him."

"J-Juudaime? B-but Tsuna-sama-ah..." Gokudera was stuck between the two twin's decisions. "I can't...disobey either of you..."

"No." said Tsuna, shaking his head as Gokudera scooted back against the counter and lowered his arm. "Blood and guts." he said simply. Gokudera gave a nervous laugh, getting what the brunet meant soon enough.

Nervous, he said, "O-oh, Nana-san would probably murder me if I ruined her house." Gokudera had no intention of getting on the bad side of Natsu. "Then I shall blow him to pieces outside, Tsuna-sama?"

Tsuna shook his head again.

"Oh come on!" pouted Natsu, scowling at Tsuna. "He's-,"

He was only interrupted by his father, who hugged him from behind, startling Natsu. Natsu jumped, but didn't scream or yelp, because that was too far beneath him to do such a thing, and tried to push Iemitsu away.

"How's my wonderful son doing?" asked Iemitsu, smiling like an idiot. It was a good thing Reborn wasn't there at the moment or things would've gone to the hitman's bullets. "How's training going?"

"Get off me you bastard!" snarled Natsu, finally turning push into shove. "If your going to bother someone bother dame-Tsuna!"

At this, Gokudera stood protectively in front of his second boss. "Stay away from the Decimo or I'll blow you to pieces!" he warned, not liking Natsu's sacrifice of Tsuna to the man. He didn't like either twin more than the other, but he didn't approve of getting killed by Reborn because Iemitsu went near Tsuna. He'd seen what Reborn did whenever Iemitsu got near Tsuna a few weeks ago and had learned that it was his job to do so whenever Reborn wasn't there less he get killed by said hitman.

"Ah," Tsuna made a small sound, wanting to say something. He frowned, it had taken him over an hour to convince Gokudera to not call him Decimo after he had been filled in on everything and now he was right back to where he started. "Gokudera, call me by my name, not Decimo. We don't have the rings yet."

Natsu snickered.

Unlatching himself from his youngest, Iemitsu made no move towards Tsuna. Natsu frowned, anger rising. Storm guardian or not, a father should give equal treatment to his children no matter if there was the threat of death or not. It disgusted him to see Iemitsu ignoring Tsuna to the point of not calling him by his name. It was just like Nana, except worse because Iemitsu was actually seen more than Nana herself, which was pretty pitiful considering the man hadn't visited more than five times. At least Natsu spoke badly about Tsuna to his face than whispering about it behind his back or calling him what would have been a cute nickname but was actually an insult.

"What?" said Natsu. "You can't hug your other son?"

Iemitsu gave Natsu a look. "I'd rather not, under fear of my life. Reborn," he gave a nervous chuckle and looked at Gokudera. "threatened to kill me if a I touched his apprentice, and bomber boy over there looks pretty mad too." Sheepishly, Iemitsu scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously.

Gokudera stiffened. He glanced back at a sad-faced Tsuna. It seemed as if Reborn cared more about Tsuna than he had first thought. It was almost as if Reborn was acting as a father figure – except Gokudera would be concerned if that was the case. A hitman, the best in the world, caring for children would not be a good thing. Plus that would be insulting to the Vongola, since Sawada Iemitsu was one of them, and Reborn was only an ally. Reborn wasn't an acceptable father figure for the twins. It would only get them killed, Gokudera thought.

"Too bad," sneered Natsu. "now get out. You already made Gokudera break a glass, and don't you need to train Basil anyways? He's more of a son to you than I'll ever be – that we'll ever be."

"You have no right to talk to me like that-," started Iemitsu, but was cut off by the fierce Storm.

"I think Juudiame has plenty of right, actually." said Gokudera. "Besides, not being here for Juudaime and Decimo-er-Tsuna-sama isn't a good thing. They will be your boss in the future, and by mafia standards, that means they both have every right to speak – or write – however they want to you."

"I am their father! No bastard child like you has any idea of what you're speaking about!" shot back Iemitsu, aiming low at the part Gokudera hated the most about himself. "Learn your place, half-blood."

The bomber faltered, but stood strong. "Even if I'm a bastard, at least my father cared enough to take care of me."

"You-,"

"Shut up!" yelled Natsu, jumping out of his chair. "Both of you! One more word and I'll freeze both of you!"

Gokudera stepped down immediately, personality taking a one-eighty as imaginary dog ears and a tail appeared on him and he clasped his hands together happily, asking, "Does that mean Juudiame learned Zero Point Breakthrough? Amazing! I knew Juudiame could do it!"

"Yes," said Natsu unhappily. "so stop insulting each other. Iemitsu, you lost the right to call yourself our father a long time ago. Learn _your _place, External Advisor. I am the heir to the famiglia, and your next boss, and I've chosen to rule with Tsunayoshi as Vongola Decimo. You will speak to both I and my brother with respect, and our right hand man, who may I remind you, will have a higher rank than you when he takes over as the Vongola Storm guardian. If you dare disrespect me, your firstborn son, or Gokudera Hayato again, I will be taking one of your fingers for every insult that comes out of your mouth. Now get out of my house."

If Gokudera had been holding a second glass, he would have dropped that one too. His jaw dropped. Tsuna gripped onto his sleeves, a gasp coming out of his mouth as he leaned heavily on the bomber, not able to stand up properly. Tears were at the edges of his eyes and Gokudera was sure he himself was going to fall to his knees if not for his devotion to his bosses that kept him helping Tsuna stand.

This, Gokudera realized, was Natsu's 'boss mode'. This was Vongola Decimo speaking to a disrespectful subordinate, not some violent boy being scolded by his father.

No-one had ever defended Gokudera ever, either. No-one had defended a half-breed bastard who had a bad temper, nor called them their right-hand man and threatened to cut someone's fingers off if they insulted him. Gokudera doubted Natsu had ever spoken for Tsuna either, or supported him as a human being rather than a object to rule over. By the tears cascading down Tsuna's face, he could tell. He had suspected Natsu and Tsuna's odd behaviors around each other, and it didn't take a lot to see the truth.

Yet, this man was their father. A blood relative. Natsu had just talked back to the CEDEF boss and threatened to harm him. This would not go well.

"How dare you speak to your father like th-,"

Natsu gave a predatory grin. "I dare you to insult any of us one more time. Go on, do it. I'm waiting, Sawada Iemitsu."

It took half a second for Natsu to register he had been punched.

Another ten seconds later, Natsu was on the ground with a split lip, knocked to the ground by the full-force punch he had received. He lay limp, blood pooling around his split lip.

Gokudera stood, split between the wise decision and the impulsive one. If he attacked the CEDEF boss of the Vongola, he'd be a dead man. However, he couldn't just let a father hit his son out of anger in front of him either, especially if it was his boss.

Tsuna screamed, "Natsu!" and flung himself forward to his twin's side, crying out of sadness now than shocked happiness. His hands hung over Natsu's body, not knowing what to do. Tsuna heart was beating fast, seeing Natsu not getting up and spitting out a hurtful insult like he always did. Something was wrong.

Iemitsu gave no mercy. The anger was like a mask over his face. He moved to kick Natsu on the side, to get him away from Tsuna, but Tsuna saw this and covered Natsu's body with his own, staying protectively over him with Natsu's head on his lap.

"No!" Tsuna shrieked. "I won't let you hurt him!"

"Move!" Iemitsu's voice was like thunder. Tsuna flinched, memories coming up from the barriers in his mind he had hide them behind. He pushed them away, knowing now was not the time. He had to save someone – had to save his family from a threat.

Fon and Reborn had left the house to talk privately about how they thought having two Vongola Decimo's was going to work. Reborn wouldn't be able to save them, Tsuna knew. Rescue was not going to come.

"No!" yelled Tsuna, shutting his eyes tight, just as the heavy boot Iemitsu wore came towards his face. The hit never came.

Thanks to Gokudera, Iemitsu stopped his attack to defend himself from the bomber, who came at him with a knife. Gokudera had nowhere near as much experience as Iemitsu with weapons and defense, nor was the knife his primary weapon, and was easily overpowered. Gokudera clenched his jaw, wincing. The kitchen knife fell to the ground at Iemitsu's feet. Blood dulled the shine of the blade as it hit the floor, the only sound in the silence of the house besides heavy breathing.

Tsuna's eyes widened as a few drops of blood landed on the floor just centimeters from him. Gokudera crumpled to the floor in front of him with a loud thud. Blood covered his shirt around his right shoulder, showing he'd been stabbed with the very knife he'd tried to attack the External Advisor of the Vongola famiglia with.

Pure fury coursed through Tsuna. A small, shaking hand found its way around the handle of the bloodied knife that had fallen near one of Gokudera's knees, whom was on his side grasping his bloodied shoulder. Tsuna rose up slowly, behind the turned back of his father, and slashed.

The knife was a large butcher knife. One that a butcher would use to chop off the head of a live chicken, and it was sharp. It was a knife Nana likely used to chop large carrots or such with, but since she hardly came out of her room anymore and the knife hadn't been used, it was still as sharp as it had been the last time it had been sharpened.

Tsuna had no doubt the orange flames coating him were Sky flames, burning harshly and not in little wisps as it had previously been. Dark flames, orange flames, and part of him. Tsuna had regrets, after all.

A dismembered hand fell to the ground. It was Iemitsu's right hand. Blood was splattered across Tsuna's hands, still holding the knife. A feral grin lit up on Tsuna's grinning face, and a sky flame burned on his head, shining brighter than day. Iemitsu screamed.

"No-one hurts my family, otou-san," said Tsuna in a crazed sort of way. A way that one might hear from a terrorist speaking his last words in a joyful symphony as he took thousands of people to their deaths, or perhaps a cheerful boy who had gotten his first puppy. "_not anyone!" _

Tsunayoshi grinned as Iemitsu fell to his knees, screaming. Gokudera groaned, the pain in his shoulder extensive, but was not prepared for the sight that greeted him when he forced himself to open his eyes to see what had happened. A grinning, orange-eyed Tsunayoshi with a full sky flame, holding a very large knife covered in blood, as the CEDEF boss of the Vongola famiglia fell to his knees, eyes wide and face scrunched up in unimaginable pain as he held the bloodied stump that was his former right hand.

Suddenly, just as suddenly as it had come, the grin was dropped off Tsuna's expression. The knife hit the ground for a second time that day; unheard as Iemitsu's loud cry filled the room. His screams soon faded into small whimpers, before the man finally collapsed. Gokudera got to his feet shakily, holding his stabbed shoulder, and slowly approached the still Tsuna. The sky flame had vanished.

"Decimo." A chocked voice came from Gokudera's mouth - one that he was not familiar with. He tried not to look at what the timid, kind, innocent Tsuna had done, feeling his stomach about ready to throw up his lunch. He touched Tsuna's fluffy hair softly, as he had seen Reborn do once when comforting Tsuna, and rested his hand there and tried to smile.

"It's alright. No one's going to hurt you, Decimo." said Gokudera. "It's alright, Tsuna..."

Tsuna lifted his head. He looked broken with dried tears on his face and a deathly paleness overcoming him. His eyes landed on the severed hand, and he choked back a sob, quickly grabbing onto the front of Gokudera's shirt and inadvertently sending new levels of pain through the bomber's shoulder. Gokudera held back however and stood, letting Tsuna bury his face as he cried.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-," repeated Tsuna over and over again, like a broken furbie doll. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry,"

Tsuna took on a lifeless, dull look, as if he had removed himself from the realm. It wasn't a good sign. The words coming from his mouth stopped. The hands grasping Gokudera's shirt let go, and Gokudera was hard-pressed not to let out a cry as the pain in his shoulder rose for a moment as the pressure was released.

"Reborn will be here soon," said Gokudera, hoping that the hitman would arrive soon. He doubted it, but at least it would help if the man did. He didn't think he could handle this alone, and Reborn was Tsuna's go-to figure for anything that bothered him. Gokudera could deal with psychotic Natsu, but not a crying Tsuna. He wasn't used to comforting people. "Don't look. It's not your fault. You were only defending yourself." Gokudera had the urge to bomb everything in sight as a stress reliever, but knew that wouldn't solve anything. "W-we've got the stop the bleeding, and I don't know where any bandages are. Can you tell me where they are, Tsuna-sama?"

The brunet flinched when his name was spoken. He didn't seem to see the Storm guardian in front of him.

Gokudera tried again. "Where? Bandages Tsuna, bandages! I need them! Do you hear me?"

"Bathroom." whispered Tsuna.

"The bathroom?" Gokudera asked, not sure if he'd heard right. Tsuna nodded. "Alright, now don't move. Stay here, in this spot, got it?" softly, he added, "Don't run off or anything, alright? I'll right back."

Another nod.

Gokudera ran out of the kitchen. He was about to lose it. Frustrated, he flung the bathroom door open and dug through the cabinets with one hand to find the first-aid kit. Grabbing it, Gokudera ran back to the kitchen where Iemitsu lay groaning in pain, Tsuna stood, looking too terrified or too gone to move, and an unconscious Natsu was.

He began by wrapping his shoulder so he could work more efficiently without bleeding out and then moved to Iemitsu's side. As his knees touched the floor to bend down, the Storm found himself in a puddle of blood.

"Dammit, this is a fucking mess." said Gokudera. He grabbed Iemitsu's arm away from the man forcefully, since the blonde was cradling it close to his chest, and started to wrap it in bandages.

"W-why are you-?"

Gokudera grimaced, putting the last length of cloth around the bloody stump. "I only attacked you because you injured my bosses, nothing more. I don't hold a grudge, so I'll help you, but don't expect a you're welcome after this. You stabbed me, and you just tried to hit both your sons. You got what you deserved."

Iemitsu said nothing. He had no way to atone for what he had done. Tsuna had responded before he even realized what he had been doing, instinctively. The boy's dying will revolved around protecting his family, and Iemitsu had hurt his family. Not only that, but Tsuna had been through the traumatic experience of being abused. The body naturally came up with defense mechanisms. Gokudera wouldn't be surprised if Tsuna had some sort of split personality or impulsive nature hiding underneath his timid personality that not even Tsuna knew about. That would certainly cause a split in dying will, which would cause it to be rather violent.

The Storm then moved over to Natsu, passing by the unresponsive Tsuna he shook the blonde boy by his shoulders, hoping to wake him up. When Natsu didn't get up, Gokudera only felt more helpless.

A bucket of ice water tossed over Natsu seemed to do the trick. Gokudera spluttered and gasped, coughing and glared up at the helper that had drenched both him and Natsu. Bianchi was frowning down at them.

"Hayato, go help Tsuna. I'll handle Natsu." ordered Bianchi. "He's just been hit in the head too hard and it probably triggered some sort of bad memory. I've seen it before. I can handle this."

"But Tsuna is..." murmured Gokudera, looking over at the brunet. It was not a good condition at all.

"I already called Reborn and Fon to come back to the house. We'll have to call in Shamal – taking Iemitsu and you to the hospital will be troublesome to explain." said Bianchi. She held up two fingers in front of Natsu's unfocused eyes. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Natsu mumbled something, then frowned, seeing as his tongue wouldn't work properly. His face scrunched up in frustration, trying to speak, but too dazed to actually do anything, and just groaned, not bothering to attempt to stand.

"You've gotten hit." Bianchi told Natsu. "Don't try to get up, and don't let Tsuna see you. Iemitsu's lost a hand," the hitwoman said it with a voice of steel, not letting any emotion get in the way of helping the to-be Vongola Decimo. "It triggered something, most likely a memory to when you abused him, and is very unstable at the moment. If you try to get up, you're going to pass out again as well. Stay down."

"Wh-," Natsu coughed, and then shut his eyes tight, holding his hands on the side of his head, hissing.

"Headache?" asked Bianchi.

"B-bad headache. Lights bright. Everything hurts." groaned Natsu.

"Damn. A migraine?" Stay here, I'll go turn the lights off."

"N-no." said Natsu, wincing as he spoke. His voice sounded too loud to him. "Tsuna will..." Natsu stopped, clutching at his head again. "...was dark when Kyoko died. A lot of blood...he's probably remembering that. I...remember. The lights being on are better..."

"And it'll make him freak out, won't it? Alright, Hayato?"

"Yes?" asked Gokudera, in the process of helping Iemitsu to his feet.

"Can you check one of the cabinets for medicine? He's got a headache, most likely a migraine."

Gokudera nodded, and after successfully planting Iemitsu in a chair, ran to the kitchen cabinets to search for what was requested, since he assumed Nana would keep simple aspirin or such in one of the higher cabinets since the first aid kit would have nothing like that. Bianchi gave a hand signal to Natsu that said the obvious 'don't move' sign and moved towards the still Tsuna, who didn't seem to notice anything around him.

"Tsuna?" asked Bianchi as she leaned down to examine the teenager. Softly, she said, "We've got to get you out of the kitchen. Do you understand me?"

Tsuna did nothing. Though Bianchi was in his line of sight, his eyes never fully focused on her. He didn't move. Knowing better than to try to touch Tsuna to force him to move, Bianchi tried again and got the same response.

"Bianchi." a familiar voice spoke from the doorway of the kitchen. "Stop. He's not going to respond if you only talk to him."

"Reborn," murmured Bianchi, turning to look at the hitman. "Tsuna is..."

The baby walked forward. With one glance he could see that shit had happened, and that Tsunayoshi was more than traumatized than he had first thought. Natsu could not undo his past mistakes, so now his apprentice was going to be stuck like this with his dying will taking over as a defense mechanism as a last resort, only that wasn't a good thing. Not only that, but Reborn had no idea how to get Tsuna out of his little triggered state he was now stuck in.

"The Ninth will want to hear about this."

"I'll call," offered Bianchi. "he knows me."

Reborn nodded. He turned to Gokudera and Iemitsu, on the other side of the kitchen. "I can't heal that at the moment," he said. "you'll have to go back to Italy, Iemitsu. The assassins won't wait for you to recover and the Ninth will want you close to him now that you've lost your dominant hand."

"Natsu still has to fight Xanxus." Growled Iemitsu. "I won't leave him alone around _that_," the word was a snarl, and directed at Tsuna. "What kind of person cuts off their father's hand? I knew I should've gotten the Ninth to seal his flames like Natsu's...something like this shouldn't have happened."

Reborn would've shot the man if not for the last sentence. "You talk as if his flames are different."

Iemitsu glared at Reborn. "It's not Tsuna. You've seen it in Natsu too, probably. That girl's death was most likely because of Natsu's unstable flames as well. It happens when they're being controlled by a strong enough emotion that they go into Hyper Dying Will Mode – or for Natsu, when he's forced into it with pills. The Ninth told me that this would happen but I...I didn't want to believe it was this soon."

"What are you saying?" asked Bianchi. "That they have split personalities in the form of their flame?"

"No. Natsu and Tsuna's flames are unstable because they are identical twins. Instead of having a full flame, the sky flame meant for one person was split between the two." said Iemitsu. "Imagine if you had a dying will that activated by a strong emotion, like Tsuna. That shouldn't be possible unless the flame was unstable enough that emotions and a near-death state were confused. That sort of dying will has a mind of its own. If a person is dying from a gun wound, instead of giving up and letting themselves die, they would take their enemy down with them in their last moments. The same is with Natsu's and Tsuna's flames. It is vengeful."

Iemitsu really did look at Reborn, who had all his attention focused on. "I don't know a lot about Natsu, but from what you've insisted on, the emotion that triggers his flame to turn on its own is likely anger or the feeling of betrayal. Tsuna's is also anger, and determination. They do have a base dying will to start off – Tsuna's clearly stated his to be to protect his family. I don't know what Natsu's is. I don't spend enough time here to figure it out, but my Hyper Intuition does help in guessing about it. This is also the reason they can tap into their flames without realizing it."

"Y-you knew about this and you didn't tell us?!" demanded Natsu, sitting up quickly and trying to stand to be able to lunge for the man. "You fucking bas-,"

Bianchi put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. She gave him a pointed look. "That will not help your headache, and no matter how much you dislike him, you can't kill him. Although," she turned her head to glare at Iemitsu. "you should have given us that information earlier. Something like this could've been prevented."

"Enough you two," said Reborn, jumping to Tsuna's shoulder. "we need to call Shamal as well as the Ninth. Natsu still has the Skullitis disease and Iemitsu needs to get that injury fixed. Shamal was already heading out here, but now we'll need to tell him to bring actual medical supplies, and I'm not calling him to tell him the bad news, so one of you do it."

"Reborn-," Iemitsu's objection was stopped.

"You're all idiots, all of you." snapped Natsu, holding onto Bianchi's arm so that she couldn't shove him down again, despite the right attitude she had in trying to prevent his headache as more pain thundered in his head. "I try to fix things and now you all have messed it up again. If dam-if Tsuna stays like that, all broken, then I won't forgive you."

"I thought you didn't care." said Bianchi, letting Natsu sit up since he was determined enough to actually sit up again despite the obvious pained expression he had.

"Tsuna's my brother – my twin. We're both going to be Vongola Decimo. I've decided that, and not one person is going to say I can't do that, because if they do I'll shove them off a cliff. I don't care if he's the number one hitman's apprentice. Tsuna is mine. I won't let anyone else harm him but me, and I won't let anyone else near him again if he stays like that."

Reborn raised an eyebrow, biting back a chuckle and the urge to shoot Natsu because Tsuna wasn't Natsu, he was his own. Reborn wouldn't let anyone else control Tsuna's fate but him. "Possessive, aren't you?"

Natsu only smirked.

"And you're not?"

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O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

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.


	13. Possessing Tsuna

**Red**

**Chapter Thirteen **

The Varia had come at the wrong time.

Hayato and Takeshi (as Natsu had now called them, since Hayato had defended him while he was unconscious, and Takeshi had taken the whole abuse thing rather well after Tsuna and Fon had explained all was well and Tsuna had insisted that he was fine) were trying to appease Natsu. The only problem was Hibari had interrupted their lunch at the park, demanding to know where his omnivore was. Then Lambo had appeared to steal Natsu's lunch while said blonde was trying to avoid Hibari's tonfas. So, being the angel that he was, Natsu took out the dagger he held in his sleeve and attempted to throw it at Lambo, only to be stopped by his panicked Rain and Storm guardians that claimed he couldn't kill people in public places.

While this was happening, the Varia had come with Iemitsu and the two Cervello that followed, to announce where the battle would take place. Following behind them all was Timoteo, who looked rather intrigued with the whole thing. Iemitsu held up his signed document stating Natsu as his candidate and Xanxus showed the proof that the Ninth had assigned him as heir. Thus, the conditions were met, with the Varia glaring at Natsu's group, and Natsu's group hardly paying attention since Hibari had fled and the others were trying to calm down Natsu.

Natsu himself was far more interested in throwing his dagger at Iemitsu than Lambo at that point in time.

"Lemme go!" yelled Natsu, struggling against Hayato and Takeshi, who held him back by grabbing him underneath his shoulders so he couldn't attack his father. "I told you guys if I saw him again I'd cut off his other hand! Let me go!"

Bel laughed and said something to Mammon, who glanced at Iemitsu and nodded. "An illusionist," said the Mist Arcobaleno. "one of Ninth's most likely. His hand isn't real."

"Scum," said Xanxus, a frightening grin on his face. "he really does hate his father."

"Sorry Juudiame," apologized Hayato. "for now he's our representative, so you can't attack him. You saw what happened to Tsuna's dying will and I won't let you be possessed by your own."

"Come on Natsu, calm down," said Takeshi, smiling like an idiot. "if you wreck the park trying to kill that bastard, Hibari-san will be mad."

Natsu paused in his struggles, realization dawning on his face. "Hibari?"

"He left." said Hayato. He let go of Natsu, who quickly pulled his arm away from Takeshi's hold. "I think he was looking for Decimo, but since we didn't tell him he went to find him on his own."

The blonde scowled. "More like looking for Tsuna to fight." He said, crossing his arms and glaring at the Varia, finally turning his attention to them. In a nicer tone, as if he were a announcer at a festival, he said, "Hello group of assassins whose names I could care less about, my name is Sawada Natsuhiko, and if you kill that man," he pointed at Iemitsu. "then he won't be external adviser anymore which means his claim of my place as a valid candidate and being forced to fight you would be expired. Thus I won't become the Vongola boss and you'd have a ticket to the free throne. If you just happened to accidentally kill him, I wouldn't say anything, and neither would my two loyal companions and this brat over here that stole my lunch."

Iemitsu gaped. They had never had a case where the external adviser had died when he and his boss had picked different people. On Natsu's part, it was a good guess of how the power exchange worked. They didn't have any rule of what was supposed to happen when the external adviser died while having picked a different candidate, since the boss and CEDEF branch boss picking different people to inherit hardly, if ever, happened.

Hayato and Takeshi looked anxious, and worried. They couldn't stop their boss from being overly confident, which meant his insults would go as far as he wanted them to. They had both seen and heard of Natsu and Iemitsu's misgivings, but Natsu had taken back control when he had taken responsibility for what he had done to Tsuna.

Iemitsu, on the other hand, hadn't made things right, and had gone too far in his stupidity. He had paid his price for not learning from his mistakes.

Natsu paid his price every day when Tsuna always instinctively flinched and moved away from him, and whenever Reborn attempted to shoot him, or whenever Hayato or Takeshi decided to pull Natsu away from Tsuna when he got too aggressive.

Natsu hadn't been able to see Tsuna for a day now – nor had anyone else under the threat that Reborn would murder them in their sleep. Reborn had shut Tsuna and himself in the extra guest room, kicking out Lambo and I-Pin and Fuuta in the process back into Tsuna's room, and had only come out to retrieve food for Tsuna and himself. With Tsuna's flame unstable, it was dangerous for anyone to be near him since if he felt he was in danger, he'd attack without consciously thinking about - or so Bianchi theorized. It was a likely guess that Tsuna was still stuck inside his own mind and was completely out of it. Things were not going well.

Hayato's shoulder was stitched up, but he was in no condition to fight. Takeshi was doing well with his sword training, and Fon often helped Takeshi when his father was busy with his restaurant. Iemitsu had wisely left the house to move into a hotel room, giving the parting words of, "Forgive me my dear Nana, but my boss is coming to town so I must move to a hotel for the time being to get all the evil paperwork done."

Nana had been hard to catch inside the house, as she was either locked up in her room or out shopping. Since she had found out Basil and Tsuna could cook wonderfully on their own, the depressed woman had apologized to her sons, saying that they could take care of themselves now, and that she couldn't bear to be in the same place that held so many bad memories of being alone. After that firm apology in the middle of the kitchen, the woman had disappeared for good.

From Dino's informative words, he and Shamal were getting along just fine in the Sawada house, waiting for Reborn and Tsuna to come out of the room they were in. Since Natsu and the rest would get word immediately when Tsuna was 'awake', they had decided to go out for a picnic – only for the Varia to show up with idiot number one in the lead.

"If you don't kill him, that's fine by me," said Natsu, adding onto his little speech as he looked straight at Xanxus. "but I won't show any mercy when I beat you if you do."

Hayato had a feeling Natsu chose 'beat' instead of 'defeat' for a reason.

"Natsu," said Iemitsu, knowing his son was purposefully embarrassing him in front of the enemy. He had learned not to mess with Tsuna, but Natsu was a different matter. He couldn't get his son to like him. He doubted he could even if he apologized for not being there for Nana and them. Natsu hated him for far too long to accept an apology. "That's enough, son."

"Oh?" crowed Natsu, putting a hand up to cup it over one ear mockingly. "What was that? I didn't hear it, could you repeat that again, _father_?"

Hayato glanced at Takeshi, sharing a look. How far was Natsu willing to go, they wondered, and how far could they let him before it started to endanger Natsu's life?

"I mean, should I be calling you that? A man who gets his hand chopped off by his weakest son shouldn't be called a boss-,"

"_Natsu_."

Xanxus frowned, but other than a look of rage that passed over his face, didn't move from his position. The Varia shifted, but looked more to be guarding Xanxus from view than stop him should he lunge for the Ninth. Iemitsu and Hayato weren't happy with how things were turning out by the frowns showing on their faces, and Takeshi's grin fell to a tight-lipped smile.

Natsu wasn't done.

"And you," Natsu turned to face Timoteo, who stood between the Varia and Natsu's group. "I know exactly what the reason was for your choosing of Xanxus was. I wonder, what will Reborn do when he finds out your external advisor got drunk and had sex with one of his co-workers, and had another son, hmm?"

Timoteo gave Natsu a stern, grandfatherly look. He knew that Natsu was using Reborn as the sort of parent excuse to scare them. The sort of excuse where one would say their mom told them not to do this or that, or told them that if this happened then they would do something about it. "If you hate him that much, then take out your anger on him later. You have half the Vongola Sky ring to receive, which Iemitsu holds, so you can't kick him out of Vongola yet."

"I will make sure that man pays the price for cheating on his wife." swore Natsu. "Mom deserves more than him."

The Ninth sighed. "If you defeat my son, I cannot stop you. But please, reconsider your actions before sentencing Iemitsu to death by your overprotective Sun Arcobaleno's means. Reborn still is an ally to Vongola. He is only your guardian at present, not your personal hitman to send out to kill people. You aren't boss yet, Natsuhiko-kun."

A frown picked at Natsu's face. The blonde looked at Timoteo, sensing the threat, but not paying attention to it. He still had things to say, and some old man wouldn't stop him. He knew better than anyone that if Reborn chose to break off the alliance with the Vongola mafia famiglia, he full well could and would kill anyone that he chose to. The consequences of that would be horrible, but the fact still remained that nobody could stop Reborn from killing someone if the hitman wanted them dead.

"Reborn's not my guardian." said Natsu with a surprisingly light voice, his biting tone turning to a more stoic one. "You should know by now."

Timoteo glanced at Iemitsu, and then Xanxus and his Varia. "That is not an appropriate topic to discuss here."

The blonde teen shut his mouth, knowing better than to challenge the boss of the famiglia twice. "Let's go Hayato, Takeshi. They can do what they want. I'll fight the Varia when I feel like it. Stupid politics. Come on Lambo! We're leaving."

Hayato reluctantly picked up Lambo, who had hidden between his legs the moment Natsu had yelled for him to come, and followed after his boss. Takeshi walked by his side, smiling like nothing was wrong, which it wasn't, considering they had prevented Natsu from attacking Iemitsu. They deserved an achievement for that.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"Can you do it?" demanded Reborn.

Mukuro hissed in frustration uncharacteristically at the hitman. "It's not a matter of if I _can _do it, Sun Arcobaleno. What you're asking of me is dangerous and could kill us both."

"But you can do it." insisted Reborn.

Mukuro glared at Reborn. "Yes, but-,"

"Then there's no problem, is there? You saved his life, and helped him, so you can do it so again easily, right?"

"I won't risk it." muttered an unhappy Mukuro. "I'm not going to kill myself just because you demand it. Messing with someone's mind is a death sentence while it's like that."

"I have trust in your abilities, not you. If you don't try, I'll kill you."

Mukuro clenched his hands into fists, trembling in anger. "You're going to risk killing your apprentice just to rewrite what he's seen? The flashbacks will stop in time, and so will the panic attacks. I won't risk my life and Sawada Tsunayoshi's just because he's hallucinating. He'll get over it. It will take the same amount of time if I took control just as if you left him like this. The only different is I'll be controlling his body. He still has to fight against the darkness in his mind and make his flame stable by himself. I can't control that."

Reborn raised his gun at Mukuro. "I won't ask again," he said.

Mukuro looked at the gun. If he got shot, he wouldn't be able to use his illusions well and he'd be trapped in Vendicare again and Chrome, Ken and Chikusa would be left to fend for themselves. Either way he went, it would be a bad situation. He looked at the sleeping Tsuna that lay on the bed to his right. Mukuro was stuck, with no way out since the hitman had forcefully ejected him from Kokuyo Land with the choice of follow or die.

"Possession could work."

"Possession?" Reborn frowned. "You said it would still take the same amount of time."

"Kufufufu, it would allow his mind to recover from the effects of his unstable flame on his own. It would be much better than trying to rewrite his memory." said Mukuro. "The Ninth would be able to sense it, with his Hyper Intuition, and most likely Natsu. My body would be completely vulnerable however, and I don't trust the mafia to be so nice as to hide me willingly."

Reborn didn't lower the gun, but nodded. "If it helps my apprentice, I will agree. We are in a very bad situation, Mukuro. People will try to kill you, kill Tsuna, and I won't allow that. I'll let you possess him and I'll hide your body and protect your stupid minions as long as you keep him alive."

"Kufufufufufu, desperate are we? Something else is bothering you two besides his insufferable family and the Varia?"

"I do admit that I the world's greatest hitman, but I cannot be in two places at the same time. As Natsu's teacher I am required to be there for the ring battles. Having this happen to Tsuna wasn't part of the plan." said Reborn. "I do not care if you possess him or not, as long as he is alive and stays that way. If you do anything I don't like, I'll kill you myself."

Mukuro laughed, amused. "Alright then, _Papa, _I'd rather not die today."

Reborn shot, grazing the edge of Mukuro's face. "Don't call me that. You'll be out of here as soon as dame-Tsuna's mind isn't in pieces. You will do whatever I ask, including _keeping your mouth shut."_

Mukuro didn't wait for a command after that, and left. On the bed, Tsuna's eyes opened. Tsunayoshi slowly put his legs over the edge of the guest bed, then groaned, the one red eye and the one orange eye narrowing in distaste.

"That was unexpected," came Tsunayoshi's soft voice. At Reborn's questioning look, Tsunayoshi added, "his flame is very...defensive of itself. His subconscious is fighting me for control, despite him not being awake."

Reborn scowled. "Put an illusion over your eyes. You're also going to loose that laugh, _Tsunayoshi, _or I will shoot _you. _Act like Tsuna, and stay near me. Otherwise I can't guarantee the Ninth won't put a bullet to your head, Tsuna or not."

"Fine." huffed Tsunayoshi, his one red eye disappearing, as well as the orange one that signaled the real Tsuna's flame wasn't controlled. Both eyes faded to brown. "I'm still calling you Papa, Sun Arcobaleno. I'm sure that's what Tsunayoshi Sawada would've called you now that you've got those adoption papers."

Reborn wasted no time in kicking Tsunayoshi in the head. "_Stupido apprendista_, get moving."

Tsunayoshi smirked. "So I'm correct, Papa?"

"Stop smirking. Don't look evil when you do anything. Also, you're meant to be afraid of almost everything. Acting, Mukuro, I know you're good at it." said Reborn. "Innocence, remember? Just don't look through his memories before he got here unless you want to be in for a world of pain. Abuse isn't a pretty thing."

"I've heard," said Tsunayoshi, staring at the baby. "You saved him, did you not? More than once, it seems."

"I picked him up in an alley." replied Reborn, telling his bullshit story for the thousandth time. "I saw potential. He told me that he didn't want to go home after I kidnapped him. It wasn't hard to tell he was being abused from how his ribs showed through and the loss of motivation he had. He had a broken rib, a sprained wrist, and a few other injuries. I took him in and kept him because I wanted him as my apprentice, nothing more. As you already know, I can change into my adult form at will, so sparring and training him was easy. There's no more to the story than that."

The possessed Tsunayoshi frowned. "Why did you come back?"

"An assassin stabbed him. Poisoned. Shamal was already at the Sawada house so I brought him there."

"So you care about him? You, the greatest hitman?" a laugh came from the possessed Tsunayoshi's lips. "Isn't that a weakness?"

"I can protect them." said Reborn. "Don't get any ideas, Mukuro."

"Yet you asked me, an escaped Vendicare prisoner, to help you. That's your protection? How amusing."

"Byakuran Gesso wants Tsuna to join his new famiglia called the Millefiore." said Reborn, frowning. "If Tsuna refuses, he will risk the death of his twin and himself. I told Tsuna not to act rashly, but as you've seen, he'll go to any length for those he considers family."

"Oya, oya, so that means my dear rabbit plans to accept." Mukuro didn't miss a beat. His nasty smirk didn't fit the calm Tsunayoshi's face however.

"Yes." Reborn turned his head away from Tsunayoshi. "If Byakuran shows up, he will no doubt kidnap Tsuna if he stayed like that during the ring battles. That's why I needed you to make him come back, or possess him. If Byakuran found out anything was wrong, I wouldn't be able to protect Tsuna since I have to attend the battle for the rings."

"So you came to me for help." Tsunayoshi smiled. "Alright, I'll help you, but in return..."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Reborn sighed into the rim of his cup of espresso that was tinted red with a fair amount of Tsuna's blood that had come from a vail that he had stored in case of emergency situations like one he was stuck in now, where he was stuck in his baby form. Mukuro, possessing Tsuna, had fooled Natsu's three chosen guardians wonderfully. Iemitsu looked surprised at the fast recovery, but stayed far away from the twins, nursing his stump of a right hand instead. The Ninth had glared at Tsunayoshi, who shrugged and pointed to Reborn, who was then glared at with a fiercer glare from the Ninth.

Tsunayoshi had then skipped –_skipped- _out the doorway of the living room to flee up to Tsuna's room. Obviously Mukuro was warning Reborn that he wasn't pleased with having to act scared and interact with mafia people. When his possessed twin had done so, Natsu had violently spit out the drink he had been drinking all over the table, wide eyed, before Takeshi had saved the day by saying that they were probably just seeing things.

"Reborn?"

The hitman looked at Natsu, who had finally escaped the Ninth's advice/pestering about whether or not Natsu liked girls or guys, insisting that if Natsu did like guys he should get a hot boyfriend from Italy, to which Natsu had blinked, shook his head, and ran away to Reborn.

"That's not..." the blonde looked hesitant, glancing at the doorway Tsunayoshi had disappeared to. "That isn't dame-Tsuna."

Reborn nodded, confirming his suspicions.

"What did you do?" asked Natsu, his voice bordering on threatening again. Anything to do with Reborn was bound to be bad for anyone surrounding him, ally or enemy. Including his dear students Dino and Natsu especially.

The vampire grinned. "I put up a façade around him just as you used to at school. Whys he so happy is what you're asking, yes? You already know the answer to that, Natsu."

"Tsuna became like that when you showed him the adoption papers?" Natsu shuddered. "It's creepy when he looks all happy. I've never seen it before. That's not right."

"Yes," said Reborn, smiling just a little bit more than he had before. "You're right in thinking both ways. Tsuna would have acted happier, had he been awake to see my little secret papers. However, I found another solution, and that person there is not Tsuna, despite being in his body. Can you guess who could do that, _mi estudiante? _You've met before."

Natsu sat down next to Reborn. The baby was sitting on a couple of books so that he'd reach the table, with his cup of espresso settled down before him. Timoteo was on a large chair in the living room, either sleeping or doing a very great job at looking like he was, and Dino and Shamal along with Bianchi all were out shopping, restocking the house's food supply since Nana was no longer there to do so. Dino went as manual labor, to carry all the bags, and Bianchi was there to buy poisonous food, and Shamal was there to make sure Bianchi at least bought edible food that could be made without it turning poisonous if Tsuna or Basil handled it. Since he was a doctor, he presumably did a great job at it. Dino was just the carrying mule.

"That blue-haired guy I saw earlier? The one that fucking hugged Tsuna after I threw a knife at him?"

"That's all you really cared about, wasn't it?" Reborn rolled his eyes, completely finished with dealing with Natsu's odd behavior. "That he hugged Tsuna?"

Natsu glared at Reborn. "Watch me. I can ignore you if you want too. I wasn't paying attention to what his name was. He didn't stay for long anyways. I don't care about people that don't benefit me."

"Well," said Reborn. "he's benefiting our cause right now by possessing Tsuna, which means don't be super mean to him or he's going to stab you with his trident. He's the perfect actor but only if he's interested. If you annoy him I doubt he's going to let you go, considering that he's one of Tsuna's."

"Aa," Natsu made a noncommittal sound, shifting in his seat so that he could rest his chin on the palm of his hand, leaning forward and looking at the kitchen wall instead of Reborn. The baby took another drink of his espresso. "so another one of our guardians?"

Holding the cup to his lips, Reborn hummed. "Presumably."

"Presumably?" Natsu glanced down at Reborn, who only had eyes for his drink. "It can't be worse than Hibari's attachment to Tsuna, can it?"

"Mukuro Rokudo is a wanted fugitive, whom escaped from the Vindice. He's also very young. His illusions could trick the Vindice, as well as anyone else if he really wanted them to do. He can make his illusions real – or at least, parts of his illusions." said Reborn, setting the cup down on the table. He put his hands together on his lap. "He's killed entire mafia families before. I won't deny that he's dangerous, but he did help Tsuna, and he knows too much to just let go. Tsuna has accepted him, and I can't do anything about it now, which means you'll have to deal with him too. You can't just ignore him like you do Kyoko's brother Ryohei."

Natsu groaned. "This isn't fair. Why does Tsuna get all the crazy ones?"

Reborn chuckled. "That's what I've been wondering."

"If he does anything to Tsuna's body, I'm killing him."

"That's fine," said Reborn, still chuckling, and now trying to cover it up with one sleeve. It wouldn't be proper to do so while near the Ninth, who he sensed wasn't as asleep as the old man was seen to be. "but I'm not dealing with Tsuna's murderous rage when you do."

They both went silent for a few minutes, with Reborn finishing his drink and Natsu thinking. Once Reborn took the last sip of his drink, Natsu turned his head and looked down at the hitman with a serious look.

"What am I supposed to call you now?"

"Call me whatever you want to, just make sure to shove it in Iemitsu's face when you see him next. Also, I know all about Basil and Iemitsu's mistakes. Trust me when I say Iemitsu regrets it, but he can't do anything to change it now. I've known about Basil for a long time, and Basil knows exactly who he is as well. Why do you think he respects you two so much, baka-Natsu?" said Reborn. "This is legally my house as well, so I can kick Iemitsu off my property if I want as well. This also means that the house should now be named after me, so go get a new plaque for the gate and put Chaos House on it later today too."

"Chaos house? There's no way that's _your_ surname." sneered Natsu. "No way in hell. Chaos Reborn? Or in your weird Italian way: Reborn Chaos? That must be some sort of joke."

Reborn raised a gun to Natsu's face, so fast the blonde hadn't seen the hitman move. "Or I could make you do it now, instead of later."

"Moving! Jeez!" Natsu snorted, throwing up his hands. "At least I try to be nice! You just shoot people!"

"Technically that _is _my job, baka-Natsu."

"Still!" yelled Natsu, sliding off the chair and standing on the floor to the side of Reborn. He held his hands up in an surrender position. "I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it, baka-Natsu. You're hardly more than a sociopath, which means to me that your opinions are shit, and therefore don't matter." Reborn paused, waiting for Natsu to deny it, but the blonde only stared, waiting for him to continue. Seeing this, Reborn decided he was crossing the line of teasing Natsu and had passed into the 'I'll actually kill you if you say anymore' stage of Natsu's thinking process. So instead, he switched the topic to one Natsu would enjoy throwing insults in about, "Where is that fool Iemitsu anyways?"

Reborn already knew the answer. With his ability to sense where Giotto's descendants, were, it wasn't hard to find what direction the man was. He didn't know the exact location, but all of Giotto's descendants were still within the limits of the town, as well as Hibari Kyouya, but that was to be expected.

"I think Basil said Iemitsu was going off with one of the Mist users from Vongola to see if they could put a permanent illusion on Iemitsu's right hand so that he would have a way to shoot a gun again and fight. I doubt that's possible, since you hinted real illusions are rare, considering you mentioned that when describing that Mukuro person, and you don't say stuff unless it's important. Which means those kind of illusions like the one on Tsuna's throat isn't supposed to be normal."

Reborn smiled. "You're learning. Good. And Basil?"

"He said something about preparing an Italian dinner for the Ninth and drove off to the market. Apparently Shamal and Bianchi didn't take the car, since I'm guessing they knew better than to do so with Dino in the car with no subordinates."

"I wasn't aware Basil could drive." said Reborn, raising his empty cup up to Natsu. Natsu grabbed it, and walked over to the coffee machine and filled it again as Reborn spoke, "You just let him drive just like that? Idiot."

"He had a fake ID." Natsu said, filling the cup.

"Baka-Natsu!" Reborn threw the closest thing to him at Natsu, which happened to be a few pieces of silverware. Natsu ducked underneath them without looking; his Hyper Intuition helping him. It wasn't near as good as Tsuna's, but it was getting better. "We may be Mafioso but that still doesn't mean Basil is adjusted to driving on the left side of the road. He's also _mafia_. If the police catch sight of an underage driver driving on the wrong side of the road that is a foreigner and that doesn't have a real driving license do you have any idea how much trouble that will be?"

"Then let's just hope Basil is good enough at adjusting and doesn't get caught." said Natsu simply.

"Not only _that," _said Reborn sternly. "but Basil has already run into the Yakuza around here. They have a grudge against him, and he's also obsessed with speeding. Part of his training was racing cars so that if he ever gets in a gunfight on the road he can easily escape. If the Yakuza don't notice him then they're dumber than I thought."

"Oh." Natsu muttered, not caring, "well then, if he comes back, I'll congratulate him on his awesome driving skills. Who would of thought he's an excellent driver as well as a cook?"

Reborn was stressed not to facepalm or break something. "You are _missing _the point, baka-Natsu." Sighing, he took off his fedora and grabbed the folded up papers from underneath it, and gave it to Natsu when the blonde returned with Reborn's espresso and set it down in front of him. "Here, don't lose them."

"Yes, _Zio_."

"On second thought, don't call me whatever you want. I am not your Uncle and I refuse to be seen as related to that idiot Iemitsu."

Natsu laughed. "Well you could always be seen as related to kaa-san."

"I'm mafia. Nana is not. I will be seen as Iemitsu's brother. No." said Reborn. "Don't call me that, baka-Natsu."

Natsu just continued laughing. He could have a bit of his own fun messing with Reborn too.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Mukuro had only been possessing Tsuna for a few hours, and yet he was ready to bang his head against the wall. Pianos dropped down on him from nowhere, knives came out of holes in the walls, and 'his' bed was a death trap invented around the idea of a Venus Fly trap. He didn't know how his little rabbit survived it all. If it weren't for his illusions, he would have gotten his little rabbit killed. That meant him going back to Vendicare or getting killed by everyone's favorite Sun Arcobaleno, which to Mukuro was a no-no.

That wasn't the worst of it. Hibari Kyouya had shown up after throwing a tonfa at Tsunayoshi, just barely missing his head, and jumped through it. Mukuro's annoying rival/punching bag had arrived, and looked relatively annoyed at Mukuro.

"You," Kyouya glared at Tsunayoshi. "herbivorous illusionist. Fight me."

Mukuro honestly wondered how the hell Hibari Kyouya knew he was possessing Tsuna, but also didn't want to know for fear or finding out something he didn't want to know. He just summed it up to the bloodthirsty teenager's sixth sense about Tsuna, and passed it off to the back of his mind.

"Oya, oya, you found out?" Tsunayoshi chuckled, a trident appearing in his hands, his illusion over his red and orange eyes gone in an instant. He shifted his stance so that he could ready himself to dodge another tonfa.

"I'll bite you to death."

Kyouya jumped forward, somehow managing to get over the piano that was currently between the two from where the possessed Tsunayoshi had accidentally set off a trap. The room somehow stayed intact, was what Mukuro would have liked to say, but alas, he would probably get another few dangerous weapons dropped on him again by an irritated hitman by the end of the day.

Downstairs, Reborn planned to make Mukuro and Hibari Kyouya pay ten times over when two walls came crashing down and a bomb went off upstairs. Timoteo didn't seem bothered by the noise, and just continued on sleeping in the chair, this time actually asleep. Despite Timoteo not a supporter of Natsu, or so it seemed when he had signed Xanxus as his heir, the old boss seemed rather content to bunk over at the Chaos house. No one could blame him.

Across town, the Varia were still trying to process the fact that the Ninth boss of Vongola had just up and named Xanxus his successor without a fuss. However, that didn't make Xanxus' daddy issues go away, which was likely the reason the Ninth opted to stay at Reborn's new house than the Varia's mansion they had found.

They had no idea it was Reborn's mansion that he'd rented out to them, to which Timoteo backed up as Vongola property, when really it wasn't. Reborn found it hilarious to find out what would happen when the Varia happened to step into one of his rooms containing a lot of vicious animals, including tigers and lions.

Being immortal had its perks. Especially when it came to Reborn and his million coffee beans that he hid in that mansion. The Varia would have no idea what hit them.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Timoteo was having a bad time in his recent years. He hadn't expected to show up and have all the thing she expected to show up not be there. Tsuna was being possessed by an escaped Vendicare convict – which Reborn approved of – Iemitsu had lost his right hand to Tsuna, Basil had turned away from his master and now supported and devoted himself to his two bosses, going so far as to show them his blood test proving he was a bastard son of Iemitsu and told Natsu the entire story of how both a woman and Iemitsu had gotten drunk one night and had sex, with neither remembering much about what really happened. Reborn had gone off, gotten Nana's signature, and adopted the twins and also got the contract that said he owned the house while Nana ran off to go get divorced and then gave those papers to Reborn as well, once she was successfully renamed Akitoshi Nana, so that he could show his two sons it. The woman had then booked a plane to Okinawa and left everything she ever had to a man she hardly knew because she knew she couldn't stand to be reminded of her former husband whenever she saw her children, and knew she couldn't care for them the way they needed her – or so Reborn said.

So now Reborn had two sons, a new house, and acted like he wasn't completely crazy by being so cocky as to have Natsu and Tsuna as new targets for a number of assassination attempts since the world's number one hitman now had relatives.

Tsuna was lost, they all knew. Mukuro was possessing him, and Natsu knew about the adoption and house owner change, while Tsuna didn't. The Ninth was wary of this new development. Iemitsu had lost a hand and had disappeared for the time being off to a hotel. As long as Timoteo stayed in the Chaos house, he couldn't meet with Iemitsu. The man didn't know if this was a good or a bad thing.

After coming back from their shopping trip, Bianchi, Shamal, Basil and Dino had all ended up in different places. Dino had been passed out on the couch for the past half hour after falling and tripping down the stairs. Bianchi was currently sitting on the kitchen counter, watching Natsu read the papers he was given about the adoption and house ownership. Lambo was chasing Fuuta up and down the stairs, while I-Pin scolded them, saying they were going to trip and end up hurt like Dino. Fon sat next to I-Pin, instructing her when she made a mistake in Japanese, for the right word or pronunciation.

Reborn smirked, taking another drink out of his bloody espresso. All the guardians were gathered, though they didn't know it yet. The hitman would get his way, no matter what it was. Mukuro was going to be his puppet for the next few days until Tsuna woke up from his self-induced nightmares inside his mind. The man was also going to be Tsuna and Natsu's Mist guardian, and in return Reborn would fight the Vindice if they tried to capture Mukuro.

It was the deal Mukuro had made with Reborn: fight the Vindice if they ever showed up to capture him.

There was also that warning from TYL Natsuhiko that they had to take into account. Byakuran Gesso was after Tsuna, and Reborn couldn't always be there to kill people who attempted to kill him. The man was something of a genius and was supposed to be in a war against the Giglio Nero, and yet he talked about a new famiglia he called the Millefiore.

Reborn had attempted to get in contact with the Sky Arcobaleno, Aria, who was the boss of the Giglio Nero famiglia, but it seemed as if the entire famiglia was cut off from the world. If Reborn wanted information, he'd have to go to Italy and attempt to find the Giglio Nero base that they were in, since whenever at war they'd always switch bases every week and the Giglio Nero had hundreds of bases, and searching them all would take forever. The other problem with this idea was that the Giglio Nero was also at war. Reborn doubted they would allow him entrance, and he didn't care to waste time sneaking around. It was suspicious that they returned no calls or letters, so the hitman could tell something big had happened.

The Ninth couldn't be allowed to know either. If the man knew his only heirs were in potential danger that could actually kill them, he'd ship them off to Italy faster than Reborn could blink. Being one of Giotto's descendants, Reborn preferred to keep Tsuna to himself – something he had gone to great lengths to achieve. He had saved Tsuna from assassins, poison, his abusive sociopath asshole of a brother, bleeding to death, starvation, and many other destructive things Reborn wasn't so happy about. He also wasn't so happy about Tsuna and Natsu ruling through a joint leadership as Vongola Decimo, but he could make it work, hopefully.

"What are you planning, Reborn?" the Ninth asked from his seat next to the baby, not opening his eyes. Reborn had changed from his seat in the kitchen next to Natsu to the chair beside Timoteo's.

The vampire took another drink of his bloody espresso calmly. "C-H-A-O-S, Caiossu," Reborn said.

"You can transform into an adult, yet you've hid it for so long, so why did you reveal it now of all times?" asked Timoteo. "All the Arcobaleno are persistent in trying to reach you but I've deterred them by saying you're training the Vongola heir and that no one is to disturb you. I however, would like an explanation."

"Good," said Reborn. "keep it that way. I don't have time to give the a 'cure' for the Arcobaleno curse just to condemn them to their deaths. Luce died from this cure, as will I, the more I disrupt the balance of the Sun Pacifier by taking my flames away from it."

"Then cure their curiosity, my old friend, and mine. Tell them what this cure is so they can decide for themselv-,"

"No." Reborn's high-pitched baby voice was unyielding. "Luce died from it. I won't allow them to pass the same way she did. If you knew the truth about this Arcobaleno curse, Ninth, you'd pity us so much you'd kill us for our own good. The truth of the Rainbow is crueler than it appears, Timoteo, and I don't intend to share these secrets with the other Arcobaleno. Luce didn't. So I won't either."

"You are cryptic." Timoteo opened one eye and looked at the Sun Arcobaleno, a frown marring his face. He shifted upwards so that he was sitting in the chair instead of sprawled out with his legs over the side and turned his head to see Reborn more clearly.

"Only when I need to be. If I tell you or the other Arcobaleno what I know, you'd be thrown in the Vindice's blasted prison to rot until the day you die. They wouldn't care if you're the Vongola boss. They'd still do it."

Reborn looking troubled was not a good thing, and neither was the Vindice. However, Timoteo had to know. Something that the greatest killed in the world and the greatest Seer had hidden and that one had kept until death must have been important. Reborn wasn't the man he seemed to be, especially if he was hiding something from his fellow Arcobaleno.

"Yet you're still alive here, sitting beside me." said Timoteo, persisting on the topic.

"That is because the Vindice have yet to figure out how to kill me and to say it was for justice." Reborn's voice turned harsh, gripping at something that Timoteo wasn't sure was anger or sorrow. If what Reborn was saying was true, the Vindice were not the peace-keepers they insisted on being. "If the two Vongola Decimo are my sons and I am under the protection of the Vongola, it is going to harder for them to find an excuse to kill me without losing their authority over the mafia world. The other Arcobaleno, however, do not have this protection. For the Vindice, knowing the truth about the Arcobaleno is just as bad as breaking the _omerta_."

Timoteo's lips thinned into a straight line.

"Is there other ways to fix the curse?"

"Not unless you think death is freedom." replied Reborn.

"So you have created all this elaborate scheme just for your own interest?" asked Timoteo, fingers steepling. "Truly and honestly?"

Reborn smirked, chin tucked slightly in as he looked forward at Timoteo. "I'm not playing the mafia game, Timoteo, I'm the founder of it. I play to win, and I've already reached the final boss. Can you say the same?"

Timoteo sighed. "I didn't plan on having two 'final bosses' to beat, Reborn. What do you propose I tell the other Arcobaleno?"

"Tell them if they come here I'll shoot them. If they want the answer I've given you, they're going to have to fight for it."

"What about Tsuna?"

Reborn's eyebrows lowered, and the hitman laid his hands down on his lap, pressing his cup of espresso close to his chest. "He's my apprentice, but also my adopted son. If you think there's anything more about it, you're wrong. Tsunayoshi won't reveal any secrets about me."

The Ninth leaned forward. "Then he knows – so I was right."

"He doesn't know the truth about the Arcobaleno, or what this cure can do. He only knows what this cure you speak of is. I don't think it's a cure, and I sure as hell won't give it to the other Arcobaleno. It is more of a curse than a cure."

"You told him?" Timoteo's eyebrows furrowed, and he clasped down on the armrest of the chair he sat in. He stared hard at Reborn.

"He saw me in my adult form. So I took him in since he was dying from internal bleeding. Then I trained him. It was quite fun to avoid your search parties, and the random assassins, picking him up from school."

"Now you're just mocking me," said Timoteo. "I would say respect your elders, but you must be at least fifty by now if it weren't for the Arcobaleno curse."

Reborn gave a displeased look.

"Well," continued on Timoteo, a wide smile plastered on his face, finding a weak spot in the hitman's interior. "you were somewhere around twenty or thirty when the curse affected you. Luce must have had her baby sometime around then, and Aria is at least in her late twenties if not thirties. Then there is her child, which is about eight or so now, maybe younger. It's hard to tell with that child, seeing as she looks just like Luce did only a smaller version. If you add up all their ages, you should be around fifty or sixty."

Reborn slowly nodded.

If he were human, that would be true. He had been bitten nearly six hundred years ago and hadn't aged since then. Truthfully, he had been planning to fake his death right before that damned Checkerface had forcefully threatened him to come to the meeting of the strongest seven or be beheaded by Bermuda.

Reborn had known all about hat man and the previous Arcobaleno. He saw what happened when the pacifier was taken away. Bermuda, the leader of the Vindice, had been highly suspicious of him snooping around, only to find over the years that Reborn popped up in different times as different people and was essentially as immortal as them.

After finding out about Reborn's oddity in time, Bermuda had gotten violent in the terms of attempting to dispose of him some five to three hundred years ago. If the secret about who the Vindice were was leaked out, his plan would fail. Thus, operation kill the immortal that was as fast as the Vindice themselves and as strong as them was set into action. It was only when Reborn purposely became the world's number one hitman and thus catch the attention of the Arcobaleno guide Checkerface did the Vindice cease attempting to kill him, since it'd be very unruly for Reborn to suddenly just up and die, especially if someone found out it was related to the Vindice.

Reborn was sure _that_ _man_ was laughing at him now. He had no choice but to die now, whether it be from the Arcobaleno curse, the Vindice, or suicide. None of which he intended to die by. If the pacifier was taken away, Reborn knew he'd survive it, and then the Vindice would come and turn him into one of them, or kill him, depending on how useful Bermuda found him.

If there was one thing Reborn hated, it was not being in control.

That meant that Reborn deeply hated Bermuda, since he was the one that had developing his light speed technique that could beat Reborn's, or any vampire's, speed, just for the sole purpose of destroying them. Sephira hadn't stood a chance, and neither did Reborn, which was why Reborn didn't want to go anywhere near the Vindice or give them an excuse to kill him.

So Reborn only gave a fake smile to Timoteo and said, "You are correct."

Timoteo only gave a small grin back, one fit for the oldest of a mafia boss, and replied with, "So what is it? Fifty or sixty? Because I'd love to use that respect your elders joke if you _are_ a few years younger than me."

Reborn raised the cup of espresso to his mouth. "Dream on, Ninth."

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O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

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**Reminder that the next update date will always be up on my profile page. **

_**Question: **_What are your predictions for this story? What do you think is going to happen? I'm curious to see your opinion...

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End of Notebook 2, current pages typed: 171, words: ~73,754, chapters: 13

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**EDIT: Anyone got any new summary ideas for this story? I'm no good at making up summaries, so if one of you readers could give me a few...?**


	14. Varia

**Red**

**Chapter Fourteen**

It was raining.

Tsuna silently thought that the world was trying to show its sorrow for what they'd lost,, but didn't dare say it aloud. Natsu would likely snort and pointedly not look at him for the rest of the day, and then Hayato and Takeshi would follow Natsu wherever he went and he'd be all alone again. Mukuro and Chrome still hadn't shown themselves, Mukuro only telling him to not try to find them, or bad things would happen. He missed Chrome greatly, and though his teacher Kyouya was sort of a friend, he still didn't have the same connection with Kyouya as he did Chrome.

Reborn, who had informed him of all of what had happened that week, had practically glued himself to Tsuna's nest of hair, insisting that if he left again Tsuna would fin d away to accidentally blow up the house. Fon watched the two, amused, before announcing how he was still curious about Reborn's ability to transform into an adult. The baby-sized Reborn had then kicked him out after that with I-Pin, telling the Storm Arcobaleno to go train his apprentice.

There were a few problems, besides the constant sound of raindrops pounding against the roof. Neither Natsu nor Tsuna had weapons to fight with; Natsu had refused to wear the half Vongola Ring, Byakuran still hadn't showed up yet and Reborn could tell Tsuna was anxious about it, despite Reborn telling him that he himself could protect the twins so the albino couldn't get to them.

Reborn wasn't sure if Natsu should be the one to fight Xanxus. His flame was just like Tsuna's: halved and unstable. However, Natsu was very different when entering HDWM, Reborn found.

Tsuna was a feral, wild lion who would do anything to complete his objective. It wasn't sensible, it was like Tsuna and what Tsuna became when his flame possessed him were two completely different people.

Natsu was calm. It was the equivalent to having no emotion at all, which was what prompted Reborn to come to the theory that, in the terms of Natsu's flame possessing him, became more of a sociopath than he was. A not caring, devoid of emotion person that didn't care about anything besides interesting things. Natsu only understood curiosity and fear. It wasn't a completely separate personality, like Tsuna, but one that was a step up from the regular Natsu. Natsu was able to fake emotions, just like any other sociopath, and could be rather charismatic when he wanted to be. When he entered his Hyper Dying Will Mode, that fake act disappeared and thus, he couldn't hide his true intentions.

Reborn didn't know if that was a good or bad thing for their enemies.

So, taking that all into account, when Natsu entered HDWM, all his attention went to either Tsuna or Reborn himself. The reason being Tsuna was Natsu's view of him. Natsu viewed him as an object, instead of a person, and Natsu saw Tsuna as his, which brought about a rather oddly protective mindset out of Natsu. Seeing as they had managed to shift this behavior to be helpful rather than hurtful, Natsu was better than he used to be. Natsu's interest with Reborn was the fact that he knew Reborn was dangerous. When Natsu attempted to kill him once upon a time a long time ago, Reborn had put a bullet through Natsu's ankle.

Reborn had left the blonde snarling in anger and pain, and then thrown him off a cliff. Natsu had learned to be wary of Reborn after that.

With a shot ankle and a flame that reacted violently against its master, Natsu had learned how to fly (because Natsu knew that if he hit the ground he wasn't magically going to come back to life – Reborn would leave him there to die if he wasn't already dead). Natsu's flames burned him, but Reborn wasn't too worried about it. Unlike Tsuna, Natsu could shift his flames to center around any part of his body. This had ended up in a lot of burnt clothes. Finally Natsu had just thrown off his shoes and socks and gone walking up into the air like walking up a set of stairs with flames covering his feet.

This had ended up in Natsu not only burning his hands, but burning his feet as well.

Where Tsuna could enter Hyper Dying Will Mode at will, Natsu could turn his vile flames into ice at will. He was more likely to use Zero Point Breakthrough than his actual flames since they burned him. Natsu could make ice appear without touching anything from up to three feet away from his body. It was just like Giotto's ZPB. Along with that, Reborn had lent Natsu an empty pistol. The hitman had told Natsu to try to make a bullet out of his ice that he could summon at will and shoot without the need for bullets, but Natsu hadn't been successful.

Either the bullet was too small, too tall, or broke into pieces when Natsu pulled the trigger.

On the other side of things, when Tsuna's life wasn't being threatened, he was calmer like Natsu, and reasonable. Reborn had no idea if Tsuna would have some sort of rebound if someone he cared about got hurt. His Hyper Intuition could sense an assassin just as fast as Reborn could. He was skilled in hand-to-hand combat and mastered his flames as well. He couldn't use his feet like Natsu could, but he could charge his flames up to create huge damage to whatever was near him.

It was unstable, and Tsuna passed out whenever he used it, so Reborn had told Tsuna they'd find someone to fix that later. Instead, he had kept on setting up life-threatening traps in the morning and afternoon to train Tsuna's Hyper Intuition. He also had the burnet learning Italian as well.

Stealth was another thing he taught Tsuna, one, to get rid of his clumsiness, and two, so it would be a useful talent in the future. He also taught Tsuna about disguises, mentioning the fact that Tsuna could easily use his feminine features to his advantage and cross-dress to not be detected. At first Tsuna had been opposed to it, but when Natsu's two self-chosen guardians had walked in on Tsuna being forced into different clothes that weren't his uniform, they'd had nosebleeds. Tsuna had been forced to see the usefulness of it.

Hayato and Takeshi still hadn't gotten the image of a long haired, female Tsu-chan out of their minds. Basil, who had walked in right as Hayato and Takeshi had both stumbled down the stairs after seeing "Tsu-chan", as Reborn had dubbed him. The loyal servant had then gone up the stairs, only to also get a nosebleed and blush heavily. Tsu-chan had been confused, and tilted his head to the side accordingly which then prompted his half-brother to go on one knee in front of him, grab his right hand, kiss it, and pledge his vows of loyalty all over again while having blood gushing from his nose.

Reborn claimed Tsuna's smile could cause a war. Basil, along with Hayato and Takeshi, couldn't disagree.

Luckily Natsu had seen none of this, as he had been running away from the Ninth, that was insisting Natsu take the half Vongola Ring. Natsu, who had been offered the half ring by a one-handed Iemitsu, had refused, saying he wouldn't wear it until Tsuna had a ring of his own.

Reborn hadn't seen Iemitsu since.

A small knock sounded on the door. Reborn set his espresso down on the dining room table. Instead of it being Rokudo Mukuro as Reborn first thought, from the heavy use of illusions he sensed, it was a small girl wearing a white dress. She had a black eyepatch with a skull on it over her eye. She had long purple hair that was tied back in the last two inches of her hair, which reached just below her shoulders.

Bianchi, the one that had opened the door, took one glance at the staring contest going on between Reborn and Chrome and walked back to the kitchen.

"U-um, hello," said Chrome. Reborn raised an eyebrow skeptically, figuring out quickly by the way her body was cloaked in illusion why she seemed so much like Tsuna. She was connected to Mukuro. "M-my name is C-Chrome. Is T-Tsunayoshi-kun here?"

"Upstairs." Reborn told her. "The door with the cardboard fish pinned on it." He let her get halfway up the stairs before he called, "What do you want from him?"

Chrome blinked, looking over the railing at the baby. "Tsunayoshi-kun was the one t-to ask me to c-come."

Then the girl was gone, already up the stairs to Tsuna's room, where the boy slept after using (or at least, attempting to use) his new technique. A few minutes later, Chrome came down the stairs, holding onto the railing for support. Reborn didn't let anything be read from his face when he saw the half ring of the Mist on her finger. Instead, he let her go, watching her as she picked up the trident she had left leaning against the wall next to the door. He assumed that was the item that tied down the illusion of what Reborn found to be fake organs. It looked like the girl didn't have to be touching it for the illusion to work; only had to be close.

He'd have to question Tsuna later on why he was giving a girl that had illusionary organs and looked like she had just come out of the hospital the Vongola Mist ring. For now, Natsu still had the Varia to face, and Tsuna had to not meet Byakuran Gesso under any cost.

If Tsuna's Hyper Intuition told him what Byakuran saying about killing Natsu was true, then that meant Byakuran could and would. The Hyper Intuition could detect lies, and if Byakuran wasn't lying, that meant he was fully confident in his abilities to do so. If he was bluffing, Tsuna should have been able to tell. Tsuna would also join Byakuran's Millefiore if Byakuran showed up, and if that happened, Reborn would lose his good meal, his apprentice, one of Vongola's precious bosses of the future, and his adopted son all at the same time.

Not only that, but Rokudo Mukuro was going to get Reborn in trouble without Tsuna's unfortunate circumstances. Reborn had said he'd protect Mukuro from the Vindice only once, or vouch for him – whichever was better when the Vindice showed up.

It was raining, and things weren't going very well.

They never were, in the mafia world.

* * *

O0O0OxX..XxO0O0O

* * *

Ryohei's battle with his partner out of the Varia had gone normally. He had won, but the Varia weren't happy, and neither was Natsu, who wouldn't even look at Ryohei, and Tsuna had shut his mouth and hadn't spoken a word since the beginning of the battle. Takeshi had been the one to cheer on Ryohei, who had dedicated the battle to his dead sister Kyoko. Since Ryohei was technically Natsu's, Tsuna couldn't have done anything to help Ryohei, nor offer advice. Natsu wasn't one to give compliments, so Ryohei only got a pat on the back and a thanks from Takeshi and a sour-faced Hayato.

Tsuna had been handcuffed to Reborn. Lucky for Tsuna there was a short length of chain between the two handcuffs, so he could walk without having to bend over all the time or crawl. It was the only way Reborn could prevent Tsuna from getting kidnapped or killed without full-out tying up Tsuna and tossing him in the mansion again.

The Ninth remained indifferent when the Lightning battle was announced after Ryohei won his battle. Iemitsu stood as far away from Natsu, who looked so calm about the entire thing that Reborn could swear he was tapping into his flames. Natsu hadn't given any attention to Iemitsu. Where Natsu was calm about all the battles and the fact that Vongola's assassin group was against them, Tsuna was restless. He constantly pulled at the handcuffs linking him to Reborn and looked around the schoolyard with wide eyes more than a couple of times, as if there was something there that Reborn couldn't see.

That being said, Reborn knew there was no-one there but Kyouya, who watched from the shadows. The prefect was protective of his territory, but also hated crowds. Reborn didn't think he'd come down from his hiding spot anytime soon. Reborn knew it wasn't Kyouya that bothered Tsuna, however, so he came to the conclusion that Tsuna was getting warning signals from his Hyper Intuition for some event that was going to happen in the future.

Hayato, Takeshi and Lambo had noticed Tsuna's odd behavior rather quickly and adopted the same uncertain expressions across their faces. If something was bothering Tsuna, then they knew to trust that and be wary of whatever was coming.

The next night, they were on the rooftop, with Lambo facing off against Levi. While both Hayato and Takeshi knew they could get Lambo to surrender if they convinced the child with a reasonable explanation, they doubted Natsu would allow it. Lambo was smart when he wanted to be.

The Cervello announced the conditions of the battle, stating that electricity would be channeling across the rooftop and that one hit could kill. Lambo, who was used to such things, wasn't bothered by it, and looked excited to be facing off against the Varia's Levi. The battle started, and Lambo had to quickly jump back to avoid a swinging umbrella. Levi leaped after him, but with Lambo being tiny he was easily able to slip through Levi's feet.

On the sidelines, Natsu looked at Tsuna as if he could start laughing crazily at any moment. Interest glittered in the blonde's eyes.

"Juudiame, we should let the Varia have the Lightning ring. Lambo doesn't have any attacks that are good enough to knock out that man." said Hayato, standing near the door that Natsu leaned against. Tsuna and Reborn were a few three to four feet away. Takeshi stood off on the other side of the roof, with Iemitsu, Basil and Timoteo.

"No." said Natsu, and then pointed with a grin on his face at Tsuna. "Look. That look with those eyes. That's the look _dame-Tsuna _had when he tried to fight back _that day."_

"Natsu?" asked Takeshi. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and his eyebrows were tilted down, looking upset. He knew something was off. They couldn't interfere, or they'd lose the battle. "I don't think-,"

"Don't worry, he's going to stop it." Interjected Iemitsu, aiming his words to the Rain and Storm guardians. "That's Tsuna's nature."

"You don't know one simple thing about the Decimo." said Hayato, turning on the man. His hands were full of dynamite, but Natsu grabbed the cigarette case out of Hayato's pocket before he could light one, which would in turn, light up the dynamite. "Tsuna's far different now than he was a week ago. He's been training with Reborn every day!"

"That may be true," said Timoteo, a thoughtful look on his face. "but no one can deny that Tsuna doesn't care about the rules if he deems them in the way of protecting what is his. His family."

Natsu frowned suddenly. "No, he won't save the brat. He can't while he's handcuffed to Reborn. Feh, I hate having a kid as my guardians anyways. They're supposed to enjoy life, not fight for it."

Those words said, Natsu leapt forward. He brought up his right arm and blocked an umbrella, the entire length of his sleeve burning away as his sky flame burned through it and countered the lightning that gleefully came towards him through umbrella. His eyes shone amber in the night. Natsu didn't flinch as his flame faded away and red splotches covered his arm. He was used to getting burned. Levi, enraged, went to attack Natsu, but the Cervello stopped him, saying Lambo had lost and Natsu was to give up the sky ring.

The blonde, Giotto-look-alike shrugged. He didn't care. "I dunno where it is," he said. "I refused to wear the ring until I had both pieces. Sorry girlie. Ask Iemitsu-bastard where it is – he was the last one that had it."

Skeptical, the Cervello woman looked at the CEDEF boss.

"I don't have them! Basil stole them." The man said, quickly retreating behind the back of his apprentice. He looked disturbed by his son's actions, and his attitude of not giving a shit.

The Varia wasn't happy. Natsu was. He viewed it as interesting. He grinned, with Lambo trembling at his feet, gripping his pant leg. On the sidelines, Tsuna smiled.

Basil laughed sheepishly. "Sorry. I don't have it either. I accidentally dropped it when training on the mountain with Natsu, since he didn't want to wear it."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

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"It'd be troublesome if I had to find another Storm guardians," remarked Natsu nonchalantly. He sat cross-legged on the ground, watching the monitor that showed Bel and Hayato's battle. Tsuna was near him, but out of arm's reach, his instinctual fear directing him away from his brother. Natsu showed nothing of hurt if he noticed. He only got involved in things that interested him or benefitted him, and a meek boy guarded by a hitman wasn't a reachable thing to mess with. He had no desire to be shot dead by Reborn.

"I don't want him to die just for some stupid ring," Tsuna said.

Apparently this was enough for both Storm guardians that were fighting to be motivated, for just as the building exploded, Hayato yanked Bel's piece of his ring away from him, and Bel yanked Hayato's ring off the necklace he wore. Seconds later, Hayato was found breaking a window while leaping out of it, with Bel on his tail. Unfortunately exiting the building wasn't allowed, and the Cervello declared it a tie and said the full ring couldn't be given to either person, and that they could each keep their halves.

Leaning over the railing on the rooftop, Kyouya stood. Behind him, Mukuro smirked, but did nothing more since Kyouya had broken his trident into pieces and they were both too injured to fight anymore. Still, Kyouya watched as his school was destroyed, but did nothing to attack the Cervello. They had assured they'd pay for all the damages, after all, and money was always a good thing.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

After a few minutes of near-drowning and swinging swords around, Squalo took one look at Takeshi and refused to fight. Takeshi laughed, scratched at the back of his head, and took a few steps back. His bamboo sword hung lightly in his hand, with the clear intention of not being used.

"Why not?" asked Takeshi, confused. He'd wanted to win for Natsu and Tsuna; it was only nice, after how they'd helped him.

Squalo scowled. "You don't have any motivation. You fight half-heartedly. I want a real opponent, not some brat who doesn't try." He said. "Come back later when you actually have a reason for fighting for your Sky."

Takeshi still smiled. "Aa, so you found out. Alright then, I'll gi-,"

"Takeshi!" shouted the devil hitman from above. "If you manage to not drown and you both just not fight, if the water fills the entire building, then you'll both win and lose, and you both won't lose your rings. I'm sure you can manage that, can't you Squalo?"

Squalo just looked up at Reborn, glaring. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"If you do I'll find that Sky ring that we lost. I'm sure it can't be that hard to find, hmm?"

Squalo eyed Reborn distrustfully. "So that brat wasn't lying when he said he actually lost the ring?"

"Yes."

"That _would _make the boss more happy since it's a win-win situation."

Takeshi just laughed.

Once the whole building was flooded and the shark in the water attempted to attack them, both Takeshi and Squalo weren't going to take anymore shit and killed the pathetic animal before it could get within five feet of them, and then came out on the very top of the building, standing on the roof. The Cervello were forced to let them go away without losing anything, since they had stayed in the building until it flooded, and avoided the threat by working together instead of against one another, and they had both agreed to do so. They were also still on the building, and hadn't exited it like Hayato and Bel's battle, so they had found a loophole in the whole either drown or get the ring situation.

The two Cervello woman didn't like this at all. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. The only normal battle so far was the Sun battle, and even then, they doubted the Mist and Cloud battles would go normally seeing as they had no idea who was the Mist guardian for the twins, but knew that the Varia had an Arcobaleno. The Cloud battle would be odd as well, since the Varia got a machine of all things to fight for them. Next time, they would make sure there would be no loopholes or ties in the battle.

It was too bad Mukuro hated the mafia, or it would have been completely to plan for the Cervello.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

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Next up, the Mist guardians battle – one that Natsu thought he hadn't had a guardian for. Now, it was Tsuna's turn to call up his guardians, however, and Reborn couldn't bring himself to be surprised.

Chrome appeared only seconds after the Cervello were done announcing how the battle was supposed to go on in the gym. She held a trident in her hands, and her hair was not tied back lowly with a black ribbon. She still wore her white dress, and looked too innocent to be involved with the mafia and Rokudo Mukuro. Her appearance was deceiving, Reborn knew; but the Varia didn't know that. They'd only think she was a simple schoolgirl coming to fight for her crush or something.

Chrome walked up not to Natsu, who was presumed to be the leader and the one that was supposed to inherit the throne, but to Tsuna, and smiled a shy smile. "Bossu!" Chrome greeted, hugging him. "Thank you for saving me. I think you saved Mukuro-nii too, even if he doesn't say anything about it. I never said so before, so with this fight, I'll prove it to you. I trained with Mukuro-nii in my dreams and while I was awake, so I'm a lot better than I was before."

"B-but your organs?" gasped Tsuna, worried for his friend. He wondered why Mukuro hadn't come himself.

"I can handle it," said Chrome confidently. "don't worry, bossu."

"Nagi..." Tsuna murmured, reaching out and touched her arm. She looked at him, eye-to-eye, and held up the trident that was in her left hand.

Chrome shook her head, still smiling. "I'm a new person now. I go by Chrome Dokuro now, b-but if you l-like you can still call me N-Nagi. For you, that name doesn't bring up bad memories. Mukuro-nii still calls me th-that." she said. Chrome pressed her hand close to Tsuna's heart, and leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek. She backed away, turned, and quickly faced towards Natsu before Tsuna could see the blush spreading across her cheeks. She stood close to Tsuna, shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Eh?" Tsuna was majorly confused.

Reborn snickered behind a sleeve. "Oh Tsuna, such a lady-killer."

Tsuna shot Reborn a look that spoke of pure betrayal. He tugged on the handcuff again, trying to free his hand, but failed. Finally, he sighed, looking up from Reborn's gaze.

"Why haven't you gotten him to apologize yet, Tsuna?" asked Chrome, her voice surprisingly harsh. She spoke disapprovingly of Natsu, glaring at the blonde twin. Her hands were at her sides, but with one hand gripping the trident that was as tall as her tightly, it was clear she had no intention of being nice to Natsu.

Tsuna gave Chrome a baffled look, mouth agape. "What?"

"I know about everything, you told me and Mukuro-nii has been watching over you. That monster may have stopped beating you, but has he apologized for it? I don't think you should be any-,"

"Look, _sweetheart_," Natsu sneered viciously, stepped forward. "I don't give a fuck who you are or what you're doing here. Get away from my twin or I'll gut you."

Chrome giggled, as if what he said was a joke. While she may be shy, she cared greatly about her older brother figure and friend, Tsuna. So when faced with his abuser, she would not hold back. "Repent for your sins."

Natsu narrowed his eyes at her, and turned away. He suddenly gained a defeated look, eyes downcast. Chrome watched him for a moment, before turning away, her job done.

"It seems Mukuro has taught you well," said Reborn out of the blue, jumping up on the girl's shoulder, and then onto her head of purple hair. He sat down, content. "You'd better win, Chrome Dokuro, or you can tell Mukuro that our deal is off."

Chrome smiled, swinging her trident around and pointed it at the Mist Arcobaleno clear on the other end of the room. "I don't intend to lose, because from the moment I walked into this room you were all already under my illusion. No one ever said you _couldn't_ have two Mist guardians."

"That's...actually a good point." muttered Timoteo. "Not fair, but a good point. I need to go rewrite the rules for these outdated records soon."

Iemitsu nodded in agreement. They really did need to update the rules. There wasn't a rule saying there had to be only one representative for a guardian during a battle between candidates.

It took only a minute for Mammon to start to suffocate, and in another five minutes between the time of Chrome entering the room, and staying there, Mammon was gone; having fled, unable to match up to an illusionist of such a caliber. Needless to say, Chrome didn't need any help but her own to win against the Mist Arcobaleno with Mukuro at her side.

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* * *

Basil looked at the clock for the sixth time that evening and grumbled. Natsu glanced at him once before retreating back to his room with a girl that had only shown up an hour previous. Apparently Natsu had taken an interest to her when he learned of her building and knitting skills. He insisted she make a blueprint of a special gun he wanted. Haru, while not a mechanic, could easily design a gun of his liking with a little imagination and a description of what Natsu wanted that made it so special.

Haru hadn't objected, having learnt about the mafia the day she had met Tsuna, as Reborn had told her and then taught her a few skills of her own. When the twins found this out, they had questioned Reborn, but Reborn only said that if a civilian was going to join then they were obligated to know exactly what they were getting into. Reborn knew it wouldn't turn out good if she wasn't told, knowing from experience that people usually got killed if they were oblivious to the mafia life they were getting into.

Since making the right sized ice bullet in a normal gun was nearly impossible, Natsu decided to make a gun that would fit his needs.

Tsuna wasn't at the house yet and mother hen/loyal servant/ half-brother Basil was getting worried. Reborn was supposed to have gone with Tsuna to buy food but they were late and the sky was turning into a pale orange as the sun set and slowly continued to drop below the horizon, creating a sunset full of colors.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Tsuna's hands scraped against the rocky pavement, but he ignored the pain from the small cuts that had opened up and got to his feet. Of all the times for something to happen it had to happen for the five seconds Reborn had gone into a coffee shop with another one of his stupid disguises on. Now, he was running and Reborn was three blocks away drinking espresso.

Everything always went wrong when Tsuna was left alone. Reborn was like a good luck charm, because unlike the rest of the world, Tsuna knew what he was and knew Reborn could protect him (and keep him from tripping, as Tsuna was wise enough to concentrate on walking when Reborn sat on his head).

The only problem was while Reborn could sense illusions and Mist flames, from three blocks away he couldn't. Otherwise, Tsuna was sure he would have smelled the blood on Tsuna's hands and come running with guns blazing and bullets flying through the air. A knife flew at him and cut the side of his arm, but he didn't dare stop. While Tsuna had, at one point, been suicidal, he had no desire to die at the hands of the Varia.

So, Sawada Tsunayoshi, apprentice and blood-giver to the world's greatest hitman, ran for his life.

If Natsu saw him now, Tsuna was sure his twin would laugh at his misfortune before turning to his more possessive slef and attempting to kill the Varia. Anyone who got within three feet of Tsuna, ally or enemy, he would punish. Of course, afterwards he'd beat Tsuna too for 'forcing' him to do that to others because he was so useless.

Mochida Kensuke was an example of this. He had kissed Tsuna's hand and proclaimed that he loved Tsuna and wished to be his boyfriend when Tsuna was only thirteen. Natsu, who had been acting like a lovely popular guy who was so devoted to his dead girlfriend that he didn't date, had full-out stomped up to Mochida, slapped him, and then attempted to throw him out the window.

When it was all over, Natsu had fake-smiled as his façade required.

"I'm just so glad my twin is safe! I thought Mochida was going to force him if he didn't agree, and I just lost it. Sorry guys." Natsu had said, before dragging Tsuna away by the back of his shirt.

Then, his Hyper Intuition screamed at him, but Tsuna wasn't fast enough to dodge the bullet that went through the back of his left knee.

Tsuna let out a choked cry as he fell to the ground. Tears rose in his eyes, remembering the last time an assassin had gotten Tsuna. The time he had shot a man, and the time he had tapped into his dying will flame while nearly dying from a poisonous stab wound.

The pain was hooting up his leg, but Tsuna tried to get to his feet anyways. Unluckily, he only fell back down just as Bel and Mammon got close enough. Bel grinned, twirling a knife around in his hand, while Mammon floated closer up to Tsuna's trembling form.

Tsuna tried to scoot away, but the pain stopped him, and he bit his lip in order to not let out a sound.

"I better get paid double for having to go to all the trouble to hide this brat from Reborn." said Mammon spitefully. "The only reason I came back was to one-up that bastard Reborn. I want my money back."

Bel laughed. "The peasant is valuable, Mammon. The Prince demands you knock him out already."

Tsuna didn't have time to prepare for the hit as blackness overtook him, and he fell unconscious.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**.**

**So I just noticed that after I posted this story, about a week afterwards, tons of twin fic stories came up in the KHR section...? Well, I guess that's cool. I do like twin-fics after all, as long as they're not all the exact same.**

**Question: ** Do any of you guys have any favorite anime (besides KHR obviously) that I could watch? I ran out of anime to watch. Could also be a really good manga, too. Thanks~!

.

Not edited. Will edit later (really! I will! Just…later…) This is really choppy, probably has a bunch of mistakes, and is just an ugly chapter all together because I can't write. I'll probably update it later with a better version with more detail and characters talking, maybe...


	15. Ascendance

**Red**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Tsuna awoke to a burning pain in his throat. Wincing, he reached up to touch it, but found a scar where the illusion should've covered it. His eyes widened as he finally remembered what had happened. Looking up, he found himself in a large room in front of a throne-like chair that held a scowling Xanxus.

The brunet opened his mouth to speak, but a flaring pain stopped him. He had forgotten what it felt like when he hadn't had Mukuro there to heal his throat. Not only were his vocal cords screwed up and in a ruined state again, the scar from when Natsu almost succeeded in killing him by cutting his neck was there.

Xanxus stood from his chair, but just as fast as Xanxus rose did Tsuna push himself back using his hands and dragging his hurt leg with him. The pain that Tsuna was acutely aware of in his knee burned, but Tsuna only winced. He watched the Varia boss' every move.

"Trash," growled Xanxus. "you aren't the candidate, yet you're older. Why?"

Tsuna swallowed audibly. Deciding that not doing anything wasn't going to go in his favor, he reached up with his right hand and ran a finger along the edges of the scar on his neck. It was about two inches long, and was clearly seeable. He kept his eyes on Xanxus the entire time.

"So that illusion didn't just hide that scar, then," said Mammon from behind Tsuna, surprising him. The baby floated over and sat on Tsuna's undamaged knee, holding Tsuna's pencil in their hand. Tsuna hadn't sensed the Arcobaleno at all; his Hyper Intuition should've warned him. He wondered if it was because of Mammon's skill in hiding behind illusions that kept Tsuna's Hyper Intuition from sensing them.

Tsuna already knew the other members of the Varia were around the room; it was a large room, probably the dining room, but the table appeared to have been taken out. Xanxus had also installed his own little throne. Tsuna didn't like it. He was trapped, plus an interested Xanxus was highly likely to not to be a good thing for Tsuna. Nevertheless, Tsuna forced himself to bring his arm out to grab his pencil from Mammon. The baby only leaped off his knee onto the ground, out of his reach, looking thoughtful. Unless Tsuna wished to bring more pain by moving his injured leg around, he'd be stuck on the ground without the ability to move very well for a long time.

Feeling angry for a reason Tsuna didn't know, Tsuna reached out again, but Mammon only moved further away.

Biting his lip to stop himself from speaking, because he knew that would hurt, Tsuna signed, 'Give it back,' with his hands. Mammon was an Arcobaleno, so the baby should have known sign language, Tsuna figured.

Mammon shook their head.

"Answer the boss' question."

Tsuna glared stubbornly. It seemed they had taken his gun as well, for he didn't feel it pressing against his lower back anymore. A new gun pointed at his head, however, convinced Tsuna to speak and stop his attempts to get his pencil back. Xanxus was mad, and surely going to kill him with his gun if Tsuna didn't give them what they wanted – they were assassins after all.

The last assassin Tsuna had run into, he'd gotten poisoned and almost died. He'd also shot the assassin in the knee and gotten him killed by Reborn.

'Reborn didn't want me to be the Tenth at first,' Tsuna signed. 'I can't talk well, it hurts. I'm not fit to be the Tenth.'

"How did that happen?" asked Mammon, examining the pencil and not looking up at Tsuna. The Mist Arcobaleno sounded oddly calm about the whole situation, but Tsuna wouldn't put it on a bet if the only reason the baby was there was to get more money - not for the Varia's benefit.

"Vooii! Tell us!"

"Shishishi, the prince demands it."

Tsuna hesitated, but the muzzle of the gun didn't move. Tsuna looked at Xanxus, trying to get out of it, but the puppy eyes were useless against someone whom was consumed so far in their own hate that they could see nothing else but their long-lasting goal.

'Natsu,' this time Tsuna moved his lips to the unsounding word. Then he signed, 'Can I have the pencil now?'

"The scar, trash?" demanded the oh-so-powerful leader, who really only had really bad daddy issues, really. Really. Seriously. Yup.

Tsuna shifted his weight to his right side, so that he could move his left leg straight against the floor, so it wouldn't be bent. His knee hurt badly. It would likely scar if it healed before Reborn got to it. Reborn couldn't heal scars, or old wounds. Tsuna couldn't escape with only a bandaged knee that was hardly healed. The bandages keeping him from bleeding out weren't going to hold for long. The moment Tsuna tried to run they'd unravel and then he would be bleeding out again.

Yet, to sell out Natsu was unthinkable for Tsuna.

_If only Reborn were here_, Tsuna thought.

'Natsu attempted to kill me. That is the effect of the second-to-last try. Reborn heals me, but he had to replenish his sun flames before he could finish, so he could only close up the wound. That's why it's a scar.'

Sensing the unsettled atmosphere, Tsuna elaborated: 'He's better now. Natsu hasn't tried to kill me since it was witnessed. I could be the Tenth if I wanted.'

"And the other scars?" this was Squalo, sounding rather suspicious. Tsuna turned his head to glance at the swordsman, who stood near the entrance of the room next to Bel.

Tsuna repeated, 'He's better now.'

They didn't look convinced. In all honestly, Tsuna wasn't sure he was convinced himself.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"This is your room. Don't leave it without permission or you'll die. Got it, brat?" said Squalo.

Tsuna nodded.

"If you're hungry, the dining hall is where you were earlier. If you try to escape, Mammon won't return the illusionist's pencil and when we catch you, you'll be put in a cell instead of a room."

"Shishishi, is what you said true?" asked Bel, who kicked the door down almost immediately after Squalo had dragged Tsuna down the hall to the room he'd been given. It looked ironically like the one Tsuna had gotten the first time he was there with Reborn; only he knew it wasn't, because his room had a balcony. This one didn't. Mammon followed after Bel, adding, "If you give me blackmail material on Reborn I'll let you have your pencil back and get Lussuria to heal you."

To cure the always-present pain in his throat, Tsuna had been willing to sign a contract with the devil, Rokudo Mukuro, whom was an escaped Vendicare prisoner and had killed off an entire mafia famiglia.

Tsuna was willing to do many things to be able to speak and express himself, but selling out his vampire mentor who had saved his life was not one of those things. Even with a shot knee and injured throat, Tsuna wouldn't give anything away. He could bare the pain. He was used to it. Getting beaten by Natsu was a good thing in some aspects, he supposed, as he now had a high pain tolerance.

So Tsuna shook his head and signed, 'Reborn died for that ability to transform into his adult form. It is a curse, not a blessing.'

Tsuna had to keep himself from cringing. Reborn was completely fine with being a vampire, and smugly liked to shove it in Tsuna's face whenever he used his super speed to reach things before Tsuna could or to avoid Tsuna throwing pillows at him. Not only that, but Reborn's pianos were one of Reborn's short joys in life to help make Tsuna suffer. He'd been alive for hundreds of years and Tsuna doubted Reborn remembered what being a human felt like. Reborn viewed humans as inferior and completely different from himself, Tsuna knew.

That being said, Reborn said little about why he felt that way. Tsuna had a sneaking suspicion that somewhere in the past, Reborn had actually cared, but either the mortal being he befriended died - or died because of him - that caused him to distance himself from their way of thinking until he entered the mafia world and found Tsuna. Tsuna had seen Reborn's dislike of Mukuro, but Tsuna's Hyper Intuition told him that it wasn't Mukuro he disliked, but the people after him – the Vindice.

Tsuna had asked Reborn about it, but he never said more than a few words; the exact same words he'd given the Ninth, plus the little detail of what actually happened to Arcobaleno that made Reborn so screwed.

Apparently there was something called the Promised Day, which was what Reborn had gotten blackmailed into going to, and then there was the Representative Battles. Nobody was supposed to know about the latter, or so Reborn said. Tsuna was skeptical about the whole thing, and Reborn never spoke about it. Whenever Tsuna had even mentioned the word 'representative', Reborn had fled the room or thrown something at him to shut him up.

"That's a lie. That annoying fly Reborn is alive right now, and probably throwing a fit over his lost apprentice." said Mammon. "If he was dead, he wouldn't be here in the first place."

These were enemies, Tsuna had to remind himself. He couldn't tell them anything. Except he really wanted his pencil back, and for his knee to be healed – but pain be damned, he wasn't going to give blackmail information about Reborn to this little shit whose face Tsuna couldn't even see.

He did not like this at all.

'If you give me back my pencil I'll tell you what happened while I was with Reborn. Maybe you'll learn something useful, maybe not.' signed Tsuna, grinning slyly. Mammon huffed, but tossed him the pencil. Almost immediately, the scar disappeared, and the pain disappeared. Tsuna smiled despite himself. "Thank you."

"You shouldn't be thanking the person who captured you."

Tsuna shrugged. A Reborn-like shrug, and one that had annoyed him so much the first time in a few years that he'd seen Iemitsu, that day in the mansion, with the two Rain Arcobaleno (or at least, one and a half) and the Ninth.

Tsuna knew he could be like Reborn. He could bluff and he could lie – he'd learned from the best – just like Natsu. He'd tell the truth, but not the whole truth. That shouldn't give anything away, Tsuna thought happily to himself, and began to speak.

"It was nighttime..."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"Will you fight the Varia? If you do, that means you'll have to become the Vongola Cloud guardian." Natsu told Kyouya. "That also means that you get to beat up the people who've been ruining your school though, so we both win."

"I will bite the intruders to death for taking my omnivore. I want nothing to do with the Vongola." said Kyouya. He stood in front of Natsu, leaning on the windowsill of Natsu's room. His tonfas were not in sight, but both knew that the moment Kyouya got mad Natsu would get a concussion due to a tonfa to the head.

"For my twin, then." Natsu sounded pleading, almost, if not for the fact he was asking Kyouya to fight to the death with a machine of all things and he sounded completely and utterly nonchalant about it. "For Tsuna?" he asked. "Please? You hate me, okay, fine, whatever, I don't like you either, but there's no way you're going to rescue Tsuna on your own, and there's no way I'm going to win this battle unless you go out there and fight. It will only take a few minutes anyways. You're strong."

Kyouya glared. "I will bite them to death."

"But you need to take the ring."

"No."

Natsu was beginning to tire of this. He knew better than to attack the prefect, but the anger of Kyouya refusing was running on his nerves and poking him annoyingly. "No," he said. "you need to take the ring if you want to fight. I don't care if you don't want to get into the mafia, you already are. Now take the goddamn ring or I won't allow you to battle and I'll say you're not my Cloud guardian."

Reborn watched the exchange with an amused expression on his face. He sipped his espresso. Natsu was getting very good at making them, ever since he had threatened the blonde with a gun in front of Iemitsu – almost as good at Tsuna, if not better. Tsuna was better at making the ingredients for the drink, not mixing it together and putting it in the coffee maker. The scent of blood in the depths of the cup was clear for Reborn to smell, but for any normal human it wouldn't be. It was the last of what Reborn had. Not being able to transform into an adult had left him to have a hard time, not to mention now Tsuna was gone and he'd be damned if he drank someone else's blood – he kidnapped Tsuna for a reason after all.

There was also the small fact that Reborn couldn't bite anyone while in his baby form, since it put too much strain on the tiny body made to reverse time for humans.

Reborn hadn't been a baby for hundreds of years, and when he had, he'd been human. It was the reason why vampires born instead of bitten grew up very fast, and also stopped aging around twenty or thirty, since it the prime age for the body to be able to handle the blood-destroying virus that ruled over them.

Reborn almost felt bad for Aria, whom he knew had a vampire daughter. The dormant blood that had laid in Aria's blood had been passed on to Yuni, where it was awakened. The little girl aged rather rapidly, and had the great need for blood. It was a good thing that Aria had found Luce's diary, or else Aria wouldn't have known how to take care of Yuni, which would have led to Reborn having to care for Yuni himself if her human mother couldn't, which would have screwed him over. He'd already raised one vampire child, and he didn't have any intention of raising another.

Hormonal teenagers with a thirst for blood were not good.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Kyouya wanted to kill something. His rage - his bloodlust - wouldn't be satisfied until he did, because god-forbid that bloodied heap better not be his omnivore lying in the wreckage of the Gola Mosca.

It was. Xanxus was laughing. Natsuhiko Sawada was holding an oddly shaped revolver and pointing it at said man. Timoteo looked grim, and yet, then, it wasn't Natsu who shot Xanxus in the arm, but the Sun Arcobaleno Reborn who stood as an adult, eyes just fading from a bright red to onyx.

Nobody was prepared for the Gola Mosca to of held someone. Kyouya had figured it out rather quickly, and it only took one hit after two minutes of battling in the death cage to break it open. He had a sense for finding out where his Sky was, not unlike Mukuro who knew wherever Tsuna went due to his connection with him.

Nonetheless, Reborn, finally in adult form after recovering his oasis of flames, had shot Xanxus without hesitation. If it could be called anything, it would be called treason. He'd shot the Ninth's adopted son in front of him. The Varia were shocked – they all were. Never had Reborn let his emotions – his anger – control himself in front of others.

"Give me one _fucking _reason why I shouldn't _kill _all of you right now." snarled Reborn. Timoteo winced, knowing the hitman would do it too, which worried him greatly. Approaching Reborn wouldn't be wise, so the old man could do nothing to stop his allied hitman friend from murdering someone.

They were silent. No one dared to speak – not Natsu, not Hibari Kyouya, and not Xanxus. Kyouya knelt by the unconscious Tsuna's side, feeling for injuries. While the tension in the air extended, and no one moved, Reborn took it as an invitation to start shooting. Only the hitman didn't move, he vanished. Then, he was across the field, in front of Levi.

The man got three bullets to the chest and yelled as he fell to the ground. The next time Reborn appeared, it was with his arm outstretched, gun in hand, and pointing it at Bel's head; the next closest human. His finger was on the trigger.

"You hurt my apprentice and have screwed _everything _up." said Reborn. "So, who the fuck shot him in the knee, hmm?"

"The prince didn't." Bel looked like a spooked animal. No one could begin to explain how the hitman had moved so fast not one person could see or react to it. "Mammon did."

Before the sentence was finished, Reborn was suddenly four feet to the left, in front of the floating baby, hand pulling down on the pacifier the Mist Arcobaleno held. "I take this off and you die." Reborn sneered, watching as the Mist Arcobaleno was turning pale, not the least bit trying to hide how afraid they were at the whole situation. "Yet, that's too easy of a punishment. Why don't I slowly cut off that leg of yours instead, _Viper? _I think that would be proper payment."

"Reborn, stop this." announced Timoteo loudly, hoping to redirect Reborn's attention towards him. If the hitman would come near him, he could at least get him away from the Varia. "Tsunayoshi will heal. Whatever intention they had of putting him in there failed due to Hibari Kyouya's interference. Don't kil-,"

A frowning Reborn appeared in front of Timoteo. Iemitsu, who stood beside him, jumped. The Ninth was frowning as well, pressing his thumbs together as he put his hands against his stomach, crossing them. He remained in a lax position, but able to move if necessary.

Hayato, Takeshi, and Lambo only looked a tiny bit surprised. They had known something like this would happen; they all had been around Tsuna and Reborn enough to guess that if something happened to Tsuna, Reborn would snap. They just didn't think it would be that bad. Threatening to kill the Vongola's Varia, rebelled or not, and shooting its members wasn't going to go nicely once this was all over. It was treason, and the Vongola couldn't let something like that go, especially if it was the world's number one hitman.

"He'll die because of this." muttered Reborn, more to himself than to the Ninth. "There are enemies, _Vongola_. Enemies that are far worse than the Varia, who specifically want Tsuna dead. You've just increased my chances of getting injured from fifty percent to one hundred and ruined my weekend. Now I'm going to have to fight. _Ugh_."

"You mentioned that earlier. Is that what you were saying, when you were talking about the Vindice? I thought you had the protection you needed, Reborn." said Timoteo, in a calm manner. "You have avoided them so far, you are an Arcobaleno, you are under the protection of the Vongola, and the number one hitman. Why do you think they would attack now?"

"That is not what I am talking about. I said enemies, not enemy." said Reborn. His voice was strained. "There is more than just the Vindice after me. They'll use him." _I can't fight the Vindice and Byakuran all at once. All because of the annoying Trinisette._

"Be careful, Reborn. You're actually sounding concerned." remarked Natsu, cutting into the conversation. He was reminding his dear teacher to be careful of what he said. Reborn knew that in the least, but he had to have the last word. "That isn't fitting of the number one hitman, is it?"

Reborn raised his head up, looking down on Natsu; not that he wasn't already taller than the brat. "Take care of your guardians, Natsu. If you don't win it'll be a disgrace to me."

Natsu only grinned. "A pity." He said sarcastically, faking a sad look.

Timoteo looked about to comment, but before he knew it Reborn was near Tsuna and Kyouya. The Sun Arcobaleno and the Cloud guardian locked eyes, and a short nod gave Reborn the permission he needed to take Tsuna away to heal him. Then Reborn was gone, as was Sawada Tsunayoshi, leaving the Vongola to wonder just what exactly they were going to do with the whole Ring Battles now.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

It took Byakuran two days to appear. Two days later after Tsuna's imprisonment in the Gola Mosca, and he was still barely able to move. Two day later was when Byakuran came in through Tsuna's window and to face an adult Reborn who glared casually from his place leaning against the wall.

Two days until chaos started – and Natsu had only just finished his battle with Xanxus.

"Hello, Sun Arcobaleno~ I'll be taking Tsunayoshi-kun now." said Byakuran gleefully.

Reborn raised his gun and pointed it at Byakuran almost lazily. "Get out."

"You can't maintain that form for very long, can you Sun Arcobaleno?" said Byakuran, teasingly. "So this is just a waiting test, ne?"

"Not if I kill you first."

Byakuran laughed. "You'd really risk Tsunayoshi-kun's life fighting in such a small place?"

Reborn had always hated the Mare Ring holders. One way or another they always had something warped within them that was caused by all the thousands of sets of memories in one mind. Not the mention the fact that they always insisted Reborn was 'different' than what he was in the other universes, or that he didn't exist in them at all. Luce had also said the same thing, when she had held the Mare Ring, although she hadn't held it for long. Luce only kept it a few years after Sephira died until the true owner could be found.

However, what Byakuran said was true. Reborn wasn't interested in losing his meal/apprentice/adopted son due to some white haired human who was munching on goddamn marshmallows of all things in front of him.

"I'm not willing to have him kidnapped and used as a pawn against the Vongola either. I'd rather he be dead than a threat." said Reborn. His voice was even and steady. He had no intention to killing a defenseless Tsuna who could barely walk in his own home, but he had no intention of letting Tsuna become something he didn't want to either. "So I'd advise you to leave before I put a bullet through your brain."

Byakuran's smile never faded. He stepped forward nearer to Tsuna but before he could reach the bedside Reborn had the barrel of his gun pressed against the side of Byakuran's head. The white-haired teen looked at the hitman, and grinned.

"You're very protective of someone you say you'll kill~!" he laughed.

Reborn smirked, pulling the fedora over his eyes with his free hand. "I'm just an innocent baby that came to tutor the Sawada twins in mathematics. I have no idea what you're talking about."

Byakuran stepped back, his smile wide. Reborn glared and moved to throw the Millefiore boss out the window to seriously injure him when a hand grabbed the cuff of his sleeve.

"R-Reborn..." pleaded Tsuna, his half-open orange eyes a clear danger sign that something was going to go wrong. "S-something bad is going to happen."

His Hyper Intuition must have been bad enough to wake Tsuna up. That wouldn't mean anything good. Reborn glanced at Tsuna, then at Byakuran. He tore his sleeve away from Tsuna's grasp and patted the boy on the head fondly.

"It'll only be a minute."

Tsuna whimpered as Reborn left his side, but Reborn ignored it. There was trash to be disposed of after all. Something so ugly didn't deserve to be in Tsuna's room. Angels were overrated anyways. Using his speed, Reborn shoved Byakuran through the window and then kicked the idiot in the shoulder. A crack that was clear to Reborn's ears sounded and Byakuran gaped, his arm lying limp against his side and twisted at an unnatural angle. Blood dashed down his arm from a large gash. The teenager hadn't seen the hitman before him move.

"Blades huh?" said Byakuran, not looking as happy as his voice sounded. "How interesting!"

It was true. Tiny blades at the edge of Reborn's expensive black shoes shined dully in the afternoon light of the day. They were both standing in the front yard of the Chaos house. The window was shattered; glass shards all around them. The blades were tiny, but with Reborn's speed and strength he could easily cut off a finger or two with them. A normal person would find no use for them.

"Well then, Sun Arcobaleno, I'll be going now~!" sung Byakuran. He shot up into the air with his wings and tactfully retreated. Quite pleased, Reborn was about to go back inside when Tsuna's small form crashed into him, sending both of them slamming into the sidewalk.

Reborn noticed the dark aura that suddenly appeared instantly, as well as saw the chain that was moving back to the dark form. He realized that Tsuna's Hyper Intuition must have warned him and the brunet had jumped off the roof to push him away from the sharp, dagger-like end of the chain that had nearly hit him.

The hitman looked up at the Vindice, who seemed ready to wait until he stood up, and then to little Tsuna, who was leaning on him heavily, trying to stand. He was weak from having his flames drained, and his body hadn't fully recovered yet.

Reborn let the exhausted brunet clutch onto his left arm so he could stand. He decided that the Vindice's attention towards both of them wasn't good. To attack unpredicted – Reborn knew the Vindice must have found an excuse to capture him now. He'd acted foolishly and now he was paying for it. He clenched his jaw, gripping the gun tightly in his hand. He could hold his adult form, but dragging a tired, barely-able to stand Tsuna along the way was risky.

The others in the house – they must have sense the Vindice that were there. He didn't need the other Arcobaleno or the Ninth involved in this. Looking up at Bermuda, and his ever-loyal Jager, he knew they'd do anything to capture him, and if that meant killing some mildly important mortal people then so be it.

Natsu would attempt to kill him in his dying will state when he learned Tsuna was in danger because of him again. Natsu was rather possessive of Tsuna in his sociopathic ways nowadays.

"Hello Reborn-kun," said the damned baby on Jager's shoulder, who floated down in front of Reborn's face in a menacing manner. Everything Bermuda did spoke levels of how long he'd been alive and trained to be strong. If it weren't for his hold on Tsuna and the civilian neighborhood they were in, Reborn would have already bolted. "I see you've got yourself another contract, just like Giotto. I wonder what would happen if we kill Sawada Tsunayoshi? Would you lose your will to fight like last time?"

Reborn glared. "I don't have a blood contract with him." He said. "And even if I did, I still wouldn't let you anywhere near him."

Bermuda moved closer, but as he did so Reborn took a few steps back, his eyes locked on Bermuda's bandaged face. He was certain the Vindice leader was smirking. He was always smirking. Reborn didn't like being in situations where he wasn't in control, and anytime the Vindice leader came near him he wasn't. While he could escape the Vindice's short warp, he couldn't escape Bermuda's light-speed portal technique.

"Join us, Reborn-kun," Bermuda was practically mocking him, crooning it like some prized offer just in front of Reborn. "You don't honestly think you can beat me while having to guard that boy, do you?"

"Watch me." challenged Reborn.

Reborn pressed Tsuna's trembling form closer to him and picked the brunet up bridal style. Tsuna knew – his Hyper Intuition was screaming at him like a dozen bullets fired off at once. They both knew Tsuna had a fever and was in no position to defend himself seeing as he couldn't move very well.

Bermuda disappeared and then, he was swinging a dagger at Reborn, and Reborn was already leaping back, teeth grinding against one another as he realized moving with the speed he usually did was hard when carrying a person – he wasn't used to the extra weight.

Pink smoke filled his vision, a dagger coming towards and, and Tsuna being snatched away –

-and then Reborn gasped as pain sent his mind whirling as his thoughts were all pushed away as the pain consumed him. He fought back against his petty instincts to curl up and cry and grit his teeth.

"Reborn!" screamed Tsuna.

His back slammed against the wall, but that was hardly anything compared to the pain of the dagger stabbed through his left eye or the fact that when the smoke cleared Bermuda had an old-style pistol pressed to Tsuna's head. Yet the worst thing was that they were standing on a table, ten years in the future, and in the middle of what looked like an in-progress meeting.

Reborn took one look at Bermuda holding the gun to Tsuna's head and said, "Fuck you."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**.**

. **Author's Ramblings/Explanations:**

I say 'the Tenth' when Tsuna is using sign language since Tsuna can't sign 'Vongola Decimo' since it's in another language that isn't Japanese.

Also, the sentence with "an adult Reborn who glared casually from his place against the wall" is, you guessed it, Reborn resting bitch face (yes!).

Another funny thing, Natsu was named for being opposite to Tsuna, mainly, but also because his full name, Natsuhiko, means "summer boy". I laugh so hard when I write his full name, because that makes it sound like Natsu's some sort of sunflower, light, knight-in-shining-armor, nice guy. Haha, no.

Also I use "they/their/them" for Mammon/Viper since I'm not going to assign a specific gender to them, so thus gender-neutral-ish pronouns.

. **Chapter Title Meaning: **

_Ascendant_: 1. A position of dominance or controlling influence: possession of power, superiority, or preeminence. 2. An ancestor; forebear 3. Astrology. The point of the ecliptic or the sign and degree of the zodiac rising above the eastern horizon at the time of a birth or even: the cusp of the first house.

. **Question:**

Since I asked this a few chapters ago, I'll now ask again, on a scale of 1 to 10, (1 being you love him, 10 being you hate him) how much do you like/hate Natsuhiko Sawada?

.


	16. Seer of the Future

_This story will be on a break from Jan.12 – Jan.24 due to School Finals..._

**Red **

**Chapter Sixteen**

Natsu was in no way happy. He didn't know why, but while trying to avoid Xanxus (since the ring that Reborn claimed he would find had been found, but the man had hidden it) and searching for the beloved half sky ring, he found himself unhappy. It was a feeling that rose up in his chest, like one would feel when they were near a campfire. So Natsu, being Natsu, looked around his room suspiciously, wondering why he had ended up waking up at four in the morning that day, without Reborn's interference, and have his Hyper Intuition go off. It was afternoon now, and the feeling still persisted.

Natsu didn't like the unknown. Last time his Hyper Intuition warned him was when he'd almost murdered Tsuna and Reborn had come after him with a vengeance unknown to any man but himself. It was the kind of sixth sense that wasn't fight or flight, but do this or do that, and don't die.

"Natsu?" asked Bianchi, coming in through the doorway with a plate of cookies that were thankfully cooked by Basil instead of the poison scorpion. "Is something wrong?" she set the plate down on the nightstand near Natsu's bed and walked up to him, casting a glance out the window to check for assassins. "Is it Tsuna?"

"My Hyper Intuition is being an ass and I feel like someone just punched me in the stomach." said Natsu, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms defensively, glancing around the room, before he stopped, looking at the wall separating his room and Tsuna's. "Something went wrong, while we were gone this morning to sort things out with the Ninth and Xanxus."

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen either of them all day." said Bianchi. "I thought Tsuna was resting, so I didn't go into his room, but Reborn should have at least left to grab food for him."

"I'm going to check."

Bianchi nodded. "Alright. Don't kill anyone."

Natsu snorted. "Yeah right." he said sarcastically.

If Reborn was gone, that meant something drastic had happened, since he had to be present for the battle that would have happened between Natsu and Xanxus. He was Natsu's tutor, and an ally to the Vongola, and it was expected of him to be there by the other mafia. To just up and disappear meant that someone had killed him, or he'd played a joke and was laughing his ass off watching them all stumble around like idiots looking for him and Tsuna.

Natsu was placing his bet on the latter, but his Hyper Intuition wasn't, and that was what unnerved him. He found no fear in going against the hitman if he needed, but the moment Tsuna was threatened Reborn always turned serious. He knew better than to confront that Reborn. He pitied anyone that tried to mess with Tsuna while Reborn was around.

While walking up to the door of Tsuna's room, Natsu found the purple-haired girl he had seen earlier at the Mist battle, Chrome in front of it. When he walked up, she turned to him, a slight frown on her face.

"You're here for the same reason too, aren't you?" asked Chrome.

Natsu didn't like her. He didn't like anyone that came near Tsuna, since Tsuna was hers, but it was obvious that this girl had some sort of connection with Tsuna, otherwise she wouldn't have sensed something was wrong either. If it meant finding what the hell his Hyper Intuition was banging pots and pans for, he'd work together with the girl.

"Tsuna." Natsu stated simply.

Chrome nodded. She had a grave expression on her face.

The girl raised her right hand and turned the knob on the door. Neither of the two expected the sight of broken glass and bullet holes in the wall. Chrome gasped, putting both her hands over her mouth, and Natsu put his hands in his pockets and frowned. They both knew what it meant – Reborn and Tsuna had fled.

Which meant something bigger than just the Varia was coming their way.

"This is bad," Chrome said, a worried tone in her voice. "really bad. Mukuro and I lost our connection with him. We only thought it was because he'd been locking us out, or maybe Reborn had shot him with a dying will bullet; not this."

"Huh." muttered Natsu. "I suppose we'll have to find them then, won't we girlie?"

Chrome looked at Natsu, squinting. "Girlie?" she replied, not pleased. She knew Natsu was being mean for a reason, and that he would continue if she didn't do anything. "You rat! You could at least call me by my name, _Giotto."_

Natsu glared. "I am not some old man who's dead and who failed to keep his guardians in check. Take it back."

"No."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Reborn gripped his gun tightly in his hand, but it did nothing to assure him. The tension in the room was thick. An adult Lal Mirch swore loudly and TYL Dino gaped and looked ready to faint. The TYL guardians who had gathered in the room had their weapons out, but didn't look to have a clue on what was going on.

"Let him go, Bermuda." said Reborn calmly.

"You know what I want, Reborn-kun." Reborn hissed at the name. "So give me that in three weeks at the Vendicare prison or I'll kill Sawada Tsunayoshi."

A warp hole was created and Reborn jolted forward, but couldn't reach them in time. His feet slammed into the floor as he landed. He hardly noticed the blood flowing down the side of his face from his stabbed eye, or the confused murmurs and looks. He was _so_ going to murder someone. Reborn moved to stomp out of the room but Lal stopped him by stepping up in front of him to block the doorway.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded. "And your eye-,"

"If you don't get out of my way in thirty seconds I will shoot you in the head." Reborn told her. "Move."

Taking a hint from the dangerous voice that told her he was going to kill something, Lal stepped away, but insisted on asking the question again. The rest of the room listened intently.

"That was the boss of the Vindice, Bermuda von Veckenstien."

"R-Reborn-," Dino flinched at the glare sent his way. While he could normally handle such a situation, with Reborn looking as if he could truly murder anyone whether it be former student or Arcobaleno, Dino couldn't help himself. "Your eye!"

With a grunt, Reborn ripped the dagger out, which also took his eye with it. The wound bled profusely but Reborn quickly healed it with Sun flames, something that, for anyone else, would be impossible. With a new eye in place, Reborn dropped the bloody blade on the ground and moved through the doorway.

"That should've killed him." Remarked Mukuro. "I've seen the odd things he does that Tsunayoshi covers up. Never thought he'd do that in front of people though, kufufufu."

"Explain this, Reborn! Your future self never did."

"No," refused Reborn. "You'll only end up like Tsuna."

Reborn grimaced, gave the future versions of his human 'co-workers' a last glance, and disappeared. He made his way out of the base and didn't bother with the torn-up city, or the Gala Mosca that attempted to kill him, or the poison he could smell in the air, for he only focused on one thing – finding his way to the goddamned cold-ass mountain he'd have to climb. The poison was nothing for him, since he'd lived for so long and had been practically immortal that nothing of the sort worked on him. He could smell it however, and it didn't smell pretty. He had no idea what had happened in the future, but he honestly didn't care because he'd just gotten sent to the future with a psycho zombie Vindice.

Secrets be damned, Reborn hated losing control, and he'd get it back even if it killed him (except that he was technically already dead, so really that saying didn't count for him). Finding another person to kidnap was troublesome, and Reborn had no interest in messing with Natsu's blood. His would probably taste like nasty coffee beans that hadn't been crushed all the way.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

TYL Tsuna, whom we shall call Tsunayoshi, frowned as he found himself in a not-destroyed Namimori. He glanced at the hitman in his adult form at his side, and gave a doubtful look. "Looks like your plan worked, except that Bermuda got taken to the future as well." said Tsunayoshi.

TYL Reborn, whom we shall call Renato, said, "This was the time you got that scar on your wrist, right? When a chain got you and sliced through to the bone?"

"Not anymore, if that fight was interrupted, then...we might have just accidently created a parallel world." said Tsunayoshi, sounding oddly dame. He put his hands over his face, groaning. "Oh no. We've screwed up everything. What the hell do you think the Vindice will do?"

Renato tipped his fedora down to cover his eyes, sighing. "At least the brat Natsu has Lal. She can handle him. Their personalities will be a great match. They'll end up destroying the entire base."

"You..." Tsunayoshi looked up at Renato from between his fingers that covered his face. "You just ignored me, didn't you? You don't even care." Tsunayoshi whined. "Reborn! What if we just killed our past selves in an alternate universe? Don't you even have any guilt?"

"No." said Renato. "They'll survive. As long as my past self doesn't end up blowing up the base and accidently killing everyone in it. My chaos shot doesn't react well with electricity. If I were to shoot any of the wires in the base, it would all go boom."

"Boom." Tsunayoshi echoed, sounding helpless. "Oh my god, why do I still put up with you?"

Renato smirked. "Maybe it's because I saved your ass from Byakuran by stabbing him in the stomach when you were fifteen? You owe me."

"I owe you nothing." pouted Tsunayoshi.

"Keep telling yourself that, dame-Tsuna."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

It was dark – so dark that he was unable to see what was in front of him. It was also cold, and chills were crawling up his body like ants. The arm looped around his waist felt stiff, and held no warmth and no matter how many pathetic struggles he made the grip didn't loosen. He gasped when he was suddenly dropped to the ground. His whole body shook uncontrollably. Tsuna tried to lift himself off his stomach but he hadn't the strength and only winced when he fell to the ground.

His two watchers only stood, observing him. He took a breath and held it, then rolled over onto his back. Tsuna barely stifled the scream that came. Everything in his body ached and he was sure his fever wasn't going to improve anytime soon. Having his flame sucked out of him was exhausting.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," spoke Bermuda from atop Jager's shoulder. "Look-," he pointed at the wall. "See what your dear mentor has kept from you."

Tsuna didn't even think of disobeying. He looked at the engravings on the wall, only to frown with the little energy he had left.

"Wh-what is this?" he asked.

"The stones of the previous Arcobaleno – of the Fated Day and the Representative Battles." said Bermuda. "Reborn knows this but he hasn't told you the full story. When the pacifier is taken away from its owner, they either die or they become Vindice with the Flames of Night."

Tsuna's eyes widened. He looked at Bermuda and Jager, realizing that they were former Arcobaleno, and that Reborn was going to be in the next Representative battle, and that he was going to die and had lied to Tsuna – or at least, not told him the full truth, which was as good enough as lying.

"Since Reborn is a vampire, he will survive."

"What?" gasped Tsuna. "B-but-!"

Bermuda jumped down and landed on Tsuna's chest. Tsuna flinched as the pain suddenly spiked before dulling down again. If Bermuda noticed it, he didn't show it. Both Vindice were fully aware that the brunet was unable to do much and used that to their advantage.

"I will give him Night flames and he will become a Vindice and obey me orders, however, if we separated the pacifier from him now, he would be useful to use in the Representative battle to defeat Checkerface."

Tsuna was certain the baby was grinning beneath the bandages. No one should have been able to speak of death and enslavement so casually and sound happy about it without being a madman.

"N-no," murmured Tsuna again, trying to stand. He got halfway to a sitting position, lifting himself up with his arms, but it didn't work. He noticed a stinging pain in his elbow, and then – chaos as his sky flames clashed against night.

A chain had sliced the tendon sand muscles in his elbow. Yet that pain went unnoticed when Bermuda poked him in the forehead with a jab of Night flames. It oddly reminded him of the time when Timoteo had sealed Natsu's flames when they were only children. That was the only thought Tsuna had as he collapsed on his side, a scream erupting from his mouth like burning cinders from a volcano. He shut his eyes tightly as he screamed, trying to gasp for air.

His flame had already been weak from the Gola Mosca incident. Having a handful of Night flames put in his system did not help the matter. The brunet only shook after the scream was over, orange eyes wide and fingers twitching. Tsuna couldn't speak. His body wouldn't move so all he could do was lay, completely vulnerable to anything. They could have killed him, Tsuna knew, and he would have been able to do nothing.

"Hmm, interesting." said Bermuda, setting himself in Tsuna's line of vision in front of his face. "You, Sawada Tsunayoshi, have a very odd flame."

Tsuna knew that. Natsu and him both had been told that there flame didn't work normally, and that he had already been possessed by his very violent no-limits dying will once before. His dying will was one that would do anything and stop at nothing to complete its goal.

"You mentor doesn't have anyone to drink blood from, and has to make it here past the snowy mountains. When he does make it here, he'll be on the verge of unconsciousness. If I have a vampire who is able to fight in my ranks, then I'll win and Checkerface will die."

"Th-that won't w-work." denied Tsuna.

He felt nauseous.

"We already have on vampire and she is saner than most since she had sky flames. She is just as skilled as your mentor Reborn, and she is mine." said Bermuda. "Tsunayoshi, meet Reborn's sky, Luce."

Tsuna was shocked, unable to move from the emotion that rushed through his veins, because standing there in front of him was the woman Reborn had shown him pictures of and dare he say, actually liked, more than anyone else in the world: Luce, the former Sky Arcobaleno.

Luce, with a ripped up white dress and pale, white skin that was surely a sign the woman wasn't alive. Bandages were over the right side of her face and her right eye, which were stained with dried blood over the area. Her right leg looked like it had so many stiches around the thigh and ankle that for all intents and purposes someone must have deliberately dismembered it once upon a time from her body.

The one-eyed Luce smiled at him, leaned down, and patted him on the head. "It's nice to meet you, Tsuna."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

By the end of the day, Chrome and Natsu hadn't found anything besides a highly suspicious Fon dancing around the house avoiding what looked to be onions thrown at him. The Storm Arcobaleno hadn't spared them more than a glance, and had run off with I-Pin chasing him. Lambo had followed after them with his bazooka, screaming about how someone had stolen his grape candy.

While in the kitchen, they both stopped to rest. Chrome looked tired from running all around town (she had caught the attention of Ryohei while the boxer was on his run, and Natsu and Chrome had ended up running for their lives so they wouldn't be forced to join the boxing club). Natsu only stared into the distance, not panting like Chrome was, since he was used to it from Reborn's training.

"Hello," came Mukuro's voice as he appeared on the kitchen table, swinging his feet back and forth like a child. Natsu jumped, but Chrome smiled warmly at her apparent older brother. Natsu had a very good guess that Mukuro hadn't approved of the name. "perhaps I could be of some help?"

"Mukuro-nii!" yelled Chrome. She ran forwards to hug him, but Mukuro skillfully avoided the girl by spinning around and leaping for the kitchen counter. "That isn't fair!"

"Nagi, stop calling me that." ordered Mukuro, looking annoyed. He held his trident in hand, using it to help him balance while half-bending over on the counter to avoid bashing his head into the cabinets above. "You can call me anything but that embarrassing name. Anything."

"Nope." said Chrome, putting her hands together. "You're like a protective older brother to me."

"He's a mass murderer who practically kidnapped you from the hospital and then demanded you follow him as one of his minions, and then dragged Tsuna into it." Natsu said, rolling his eyes and casually throwing the hidden dagger he had up his sleeve at Mukuro. It was deflected by the trident the teen held. "He's also escaped from a mafia prison and is now on the run from the prison's guards. Why the hell are you saying he's an older brother figure?"

Chrome looked at Natsu. "Because he needs a little sister to protect. Otherwise Mukuro-sama won't be motivated! So Mukuro-sama is Mukuro-nii. I think he actually gets bored sometimes, sitting in that old building with Ken-chan and Chikusa-kyun."

Natsu blanched. What the hell was this girl, he wondered, acting so happy that it was almost creepy. Maybe she had an obsession with keeping Tsuna safe, just as he had a possessive issue over his twin.

Natsu looked at Mukuro, but having seen the expression on his face, decided that this was a normal Nagi-Chrome occurrence that happened whenever something went wrong with Tsuna. He hoped she'd be more normal when Tsuna got back from wherever he was – or until they found him.

"Mukuro," said Natsu, drawing the attention away from Chrome before he was tempted to trip her down the stairs. He'd done that to Haru once, in revenge for her slapping him. It had gone badly, since she'd immediately grabbed onto him and pulled him down with her, screaming insults all the way; but in a good-naturedly way since she was used to Natsu's behavior. "Information?"

"Ah," Mukuro's voice took a turn down a tone. The teen looked down at Natsu with a frown, wobbling a bit on the counter. Natsu liked to call the position owling. "yes, I believe that it wasn't Reborn's choice that they left. Kufufufufu, the Vindice have been here." Mukuro paused, glancing at Chrome to gauge her reaction. "Usually you wouldn't be able to sense their energy so long after they leave, but since I've been in their prison before I'm more attuned to running away from them and knowing where they've been. They were here."

"Then..." Chrome hesitated, worry showing in her voice. "what does that mean? What happened to them? Surely the Vindice wouldn't attack them and break the window like that. They aren't criminals."

Natsu considered it for a moment. The recent event of Reborn shooting Levi came to mind, and the threatening of the Varia. He didn't know if that could be considered treason, since the Varia had rebelled a few years back, but if it did in the Vindice's minds, it didn't matter.

Mukuro laughed. "That my dear Nagi, I do not know."

Natsu stayed silent. He knew something they didn't.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"Hayato."

"Yes, Juudaime?"

"Get Shamal and Dino to come back here." Natsu said. "I believe we've had a visit from the Vindice. Reborn and Tsuna are gone."

Hayato looked at Natsu, a bewildered expression on his face. "I think Dino left already. He said he had to convince Hibari to take the ring, since he wouldn't take it earlier. Shamal's with Bianchi upstairs. He came back a few minutes ago after meeting with Fuuta to see which of his poisons ranked highest for success rate in killing people."

"Then find someone who has connections that's available." said Natsu. "Tsuna's gone. I _won't _allow that."

While normally Natsu was well-behaved, spoke in a calm tone and had a straight face, there was always the times when he showed his true self; when despite having a straight face and casual, comfortable stance, his voice lit up like a particularly nasty firework. Hayato knew this, and knew Natsu was serious, so he got up off the couch, bowed, and then ran off out of sight.

Natsu sighed.

One of these days, he was going to handcuff Tsuna and Reborn both to a pole and see how they attempted to handle it. Then they'd be the ones stuck trying to find a way out, and not the ones running and disappearing all the time. He honestly hated that hitman, but no matter what he did he couldn't kill him, which meant he was stuck sharing, and if there was one thing in the world Natsu hated, it was sharing.

Natsu absolutely hated sharing what was his - especially Tsuna.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Sandwiched between Takeshi and Lambo, whom were playing toss with a baseball, Natsu wasn't amused. He also wasn't amused when Takeshi broke another window, and then Hayato came into the room, yelling at the baseball idiot for breaking another window. Then Hayato started to berate Lambo, which in turn caused the cow baby to cry, and then that started the whole thing with Lambo pulling out the bazooka and shooting it.

Except instead of hitting someone, it hit the table in the middle of the room and engulfed all of them in it. One minute Natsu was sitting on the floor, leaning against the side of the bed, watching his guardians, and the next he was lying in a very dark space.

Natsu kicked the lid off the coffin, and it went flying up into the air, and landed on the ground a few feet away. Natsu raised his head and sat up.

He was in the middle of a forest. In a coffin. Natsu wanted to hit something. He was not supposed to be dead in the future. This was not acceptable.

"Hayato!" screamed Natsu as loud as he could. He knew the Storm was nearby; the coffin looked new, and the flowers were still strong and clean. They hadn't rotted at all, which meant that his future self had likely died only days ago. That also meant that his future Storm guardian probably still visited the grave every day, since he knew Hayato worshipped him like a god.

Just like that, Hayato was there, running up to the coffin, going into the full bow on his hands and knees and begging for forgiveness for letting his dear Juudiame die. Annoyed, Natsu flicked him on the forehead and then stepped over his bowing form outside the coffin.

Natsu winced when he saw he'd broken the lid of the coffin in two pieces.

He hoped he wouldn't have to pay for that.

"Hayato, any idea where we are?"

Hayato was up in a flash, stopping his begging and instead by his Sky's side, saluting. "We seem to be in a forest. I believe I've been here before in the past. Namimori should be," Hayato paused for a moment, and then pointed. "that way."

"Off we go," said Natsu in a deadpan voice, and started walking. Hayato blinked once, and then followed. He'd follow Natsu anywhere. "to Wonderland."

Hayato grinned. "I got to see Juudiame first. Now I have one more thing to say to Takeshi when he talks about his stupid baseball game!"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. Of course. Now, would you mind disposing of the girl up in the trees? I don't think she's realized we've seen her."

"A pity." Hayato agreed, and just like that, all the trees surrounding them exploded as Hayato threw over a dozen bombs around them. The woman fell from the tree she was in ungracefully, and then swore multiple times in languages Natsu didn't know, but Hayato did, from the wince he gave.

"You!" growled Lal. "Are an ass!"

"Nice first introduction lady. You've got a pacifier, which means you're the Rain Arcobaleno. Nice to meet you, Rain Lady. I'm Sawada Natsuhiko, but you probably already knew that since those flowers were probably meant to be set down at my grave."

Natsu held no emotion but boredom in his voice. This only ticked off Lal further, who summoned her giant centipede and lunged at Natsu. Natsu leaped away, and Hayato held his arms in front of his face, yelling his name, as the centipede whirled past him.

"So much for peaceful introductions." Said Natsu, sighing. He was bored. Nothing was that entertaining unless it could actually kill you, like Reborn. He was only interested in Tsuna. This girl could go off into space for all he cared. "I really don't want to have to fight you Rainy. I haven't had lunch yet because I spent the whole day searching for Tsuna. Would you mind putting away the giant monster? It's rather annoying to fight on an empty stomach."

Hayato facepalmed. Sometimes he wondered how Natsu had survived without him. He just didn't know when to not insult people.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Natsu did like Lal, she was one to be respected in his way of seeing things in his warped mind. However, his sociopath side didn't like her that much when she had insisted on training him, as his flames decided they were going to burn him more than normal. He knew he could use ice to freeze things, but Lal said that was the easy way out, and that Natsu wouldn't always have the energy to do that.

She also said that it wrecked the base since they couldn't unfreeze the ice without all the Vongola rings, which meant it would stay there – forever.

It was a rather disheartening prospect, Natsu realized, seeing one of the rooms his future self and future Tsuna had fought in that Lal showed as an example of what happened when one broke all the Vongola rings and ice ended up covering the entire room. That room was completely unusable, and had been turned into an ice skating rink.

Only minutes after he'd arrived at the base, Takeshi and Lambo had showed up with Haru, whom had two pistols in her arms, which looked exactly like the ones Natsu had ordered from her.

"Here," Haru said. "I was holding onto them when I got sent here."

Natsu examined the two guns, a frown on his face. "I only wanted one. Why's there two?"

Haru smiled brightly. "The other one is like Xanxus-san's gun. The one you originally ordered is made so you can shoot bullets, but this one is basically the full-power or nothing one. I wouldn't recommend using it unless you seriously want to kill someone, but I had extra time, so I figured I might as well build another one. Reborn was pretty helpful with helping me when you first asked me about it."

"Oh." Natsu said. "Well, it's a nice gun. You're good at this."

Haru smiled, since she knew this was Natsu's way of thanking her, and put a hand on his shoulder. She grabbed it surprisingly tight, and Natsu had to stop himself from wincing when it became a painful claw-like grab. "Just remember to pay me for it, alright Natsu-kun?"

"Yes." said Natsu, nodding. "I'll pay. But in return you have to promise me that you'll make another one if this ever breaks."

"Fine."

After that, the inventor whose name Natsu couldn't remember because he'd only seen the short man once, had tossed him an odd pair of gloves that were an exact replica of Giotto's. Natsu also ended up walking barefoot everywhere since his shoes were stolen by the inventor to see his shoe size. Later in the day, Natso got fire-resistant bandages to wrap around his foot and ankle so that he could walk outside but also wouldn't burn through his pair of shoes when he kicked someone.

Hanging from his left side of bangs, near his ear, was two beads, one red and one blue. Natsu had been told by future Fuuta and Bianchi that it was his future self's idea that he'd used to make his flame more balanced. At first Natsu was skeptical, but after seeing that the beads had Takeshi and Hayato's storm and rain flame in them respectfully, was happy with it. He'd also gotten TYL Mukuro, Hibari and Ryohei's flames, which accidently ended up turning the hair in front of his right ear black instead of the beads that were supposed to be on that side. It worked however, since the strands of hair was imbued with Mist, Cloud and Sun flames.

The idea worked well. Lambo was still young, so he had a hard time, but Lal managed to get his flames into a bracelet that Natsu wore on his wrist. It was thick, much like a wristwatch, and green in color.

Hanging off the string below the red and blue beads was a small tassle only a quarter inch long. It was a normal golden color and had his future self's Sky flames in it; which with it, made it so Natsu didn't burn himself with his flames since the tassle absorbed most of them so they wouldn't overwhelm him.

Apparently his future self had found this out while sparring with all of his guardians at once. According to Bianchi's explanation, Natsuhiko had ended up knocked out for a good day or so.

A few days after this, Lal had tossed Natsu a box and told him to open it with his ring. Natsu did, and found his own pet lynx, which had been named Zio. Lal had told him he utterly failed at name-giving. While they bickered, the lynx settled itself up in the corner of the room atop a few boxes and went to sleep. Lal had later commented that the animal was looking down up on them, but Natsu refused the idea and claimed that it just wanted to be as far away from Lal as possible because she was annoying.

Lal, being stubborn, huffed and turned away from him, announcing that training was over. Natsu glared at her as she left, but said nothing. The whole reason Natsu was convinced to fight the Varia was because Reborn had left him a little tip about Tsuna being in danger if the Varia won and that he'd lose his 'toy'.

It seemed that TYL Mukuro found this amusing, seeming to know something Natsu didn't, while TYL Hibari stood as far away from Mukuro as possible and said nothing about the subject. The younger guardians knew nothing about this, except for Chrome, whose mind was linked with future Mukuro's so her organs wouldn't fail. Meanwhile, TYL Ryohei had mentioned the words, "You'll find out later," since Reborn wasn't there to explain.

Bianchi and Fuuta didn't seem to know about why the secret was so _secret._

They looked too out of the loop, as well as Haru, who had told him he should test out his ice bullet gun as soon as she saw him. At first, Natsu disagreed, but what Haru wanted Haru got. He failed; up until the point Zio came in through the doorway, yawning and showing her large teeth, before leaping over onto his shoulder. The box animal, Natsu found out quickly, stabilized the flames and ice combo so that the bullet was the right size. The box animal was also useful because Natsu could use the flames from the animal to draw off of rather than his own to make the bullet.

The gun was dubbed Zero gun, short for Zero Point Breakthrough. Along with the gun, Haru convinced Bianchi to give Natsu one of her curved daggers to fight with, rather than the old, chipped dagger he used (and had lost) at the house after he'd thrown it at Mukuro.

Unknown to the others, Natsu was training himself with lighting the knife with other flames besides his own sky flame. Using his own unstable flame that could easily be split up and the flames from the beads and items worked well for Natsu. If Natsu's sky flame wasn't halved and ruined, he doubted he would be able to use the other flame types. It was only due to its instability that it could shift into the flames that made it up.

Apparently Zio also transformed into a white cloak that looked like a replica of Primo's, besides the color. Natsu liked it better than black anyways, since he liked ice more, and ice was a light color, and because Reborn wore black and thus he hated anything to do with the hitman which meant he hated the color black. His I Gloves were black, but since they had other colors Natsu still found them useful.

Yet, he didn't have his twin, nor his tutor Reborn, and that was all that mattered to Natsu because he got what he wanted, dead or not. If he had to drag back their corpses then he would. He wouldn't let them disappear.

"When do we get to attack them, Mukuro-nii?" asked the long-haired Chrome. She was far more confident than she had been when she had been Nagi, but she still kept her hair long to keep a piece of her old self with her. "I want to see Bossu again."

"Calm yourself Nagi," Mukuro said, patting the ten years younger Chrome on the head. "We must take down the annoyance first."

Chrome pouted and looked at the most –presumably- bloodthirsty of them all: Hibari. "If we wait any longer..."

Hibari glared. They all either saw or heard the story of the Vindice and their mysterious involvement with Reborn and Tsuna. The longer they waited the greater the risk that Tsuna and Reborn wouldn't come back. While they had heard the story of Reborn vouching for Mukuro to not be imprisoned when Tsuna and Natsu had turned seventeen, they thought that was the end of it. However, they didn't know how Reborn and Tsuna would manage to escape seeing as how they would have no food or water while traveling back through the mountains.

The door opened and Basil walked in. he saw the guardians plus Natsu gathered in the room and sighed.

"Moping around will get you nowhere," he said. "you may be Tsuna's guardians and twin brother just as I am his half brother, but you must remember that Tsuna wasn't the only Vongola Decimo; that's you too." Natsu shifted his feet, looking away from Basil. "How do you expect to lead when you are showing such a depressing weakness?"

"I'm not weak!" snarled Natsu, hands suddenly at Basil's neck, slamming him against the wall. "Tsuna's the weak one!"

Basil coughed, but Natsu didn't release him. Basil didn't struggle, however, other than gripping Natsu's wrists to keep himself standing. "He's the one that's got that fucking sad smile on his face and regretful look whenever he fucking looks at anyone, not me! He's the one who can't even fight for himself without feeling sorry for the person he hits! He's the one that's been called dame all his life. Not me!"

Hibari dragged a clawing, screaming Natsu off Basil and looked at the blonde with a glint in his eye. Mukuro chuckled; they had all forgotten this side of Natsuhiko after the man had played a game of Russian Roulette with Byakuran and lost. The murderous side – the side that was his possessive flame influencing him.

Basil coughed, and wiped a sliver of saliva off his chin. He waved away Chrome when she approached him, concerned. "No," he said. "I knew it would happen. I just needed to see that." He spoke to the amber-eyed Natsu, looking him in the eye. "You and Tsuna are both screwed up in the head when that flame messes with you. Tsuna turns into a monster when his flame comes out when his family is threatened. However, you're possessive of Tsuna, yet your warped love for him led you to beat him. So, I want to know, what do you fight for?"

Natsu's frantic struggles against Hibari's hold stopped. He slowly sunk to the ground, onto his knees, and stared.

"Well?"

Hibari and Mukuro watched, interested in Natsu's response. Chrome stood by Basil warily, ready with her trident forward incase Natsu tried anything.

"Anyone who dares harm Tsunayoshi will die." Said Natsu. "He's mine."

"And Byakuran?" asked Basil, curious.

Natsu smiled a clearly fake smile. "Curiosity killed the cat."

Chrome grinned at Natsu. "But satisfaction brought it back."

"Kufufufu, what do you know about the Vindice, Giotto?" asked Mukuro. Natsu glared at the name. "Surely after how long you were around the Sun Arcobaleno and the Ninth, you must have heard something."

"True," Natsu told him, getting to his feet and wiping off his knees of imaginary dust. "I overheard him and the Ninth talking about it. Reborn was being chased by them."

"Do you know Reborn's secret?" asked a new voice. Lal stepped into the room, pushing past Basil and Chrome and strutting up beside Hibari. She lifted Natsu by his underarms and threw him over to the couch on the side of the room. Natsu growled as he collided with the couch cushions and rolled off it onto the floor. She looked down at him. "The Vindice obviously want to kill him for it."

"What secret?"

"You're useless." said Lal.

Mukuro stepped in between them before Lal could punch Natsu. He put both his hands up in a stop motion, facing each of them. "Oya, oya, it wouldn't be good to start fights now. You were going to say something about the Vindice, no?"

"Reborn mentioned something about all of this being his plan to escape from them. The Ninth asked him how to get the cure to break the Arcobaleno curse that Reborn had, but Reborn refused him." said Natsu, as if telling a story to little children. He didn't seem bothered by having to explain, but also didn't seem very happy to have to talk for very long either. "He said it was curse, not a blessing. If you're talking about a secret, Reborn did mention something like that. He said his secret would get the Arcobaleno killed if they knew it. Tsuna has known ever since he was kidnapped by Reborn. Did he say anything before he left?"

The calm, collected Natsu was scary – a sociopath driven only by his warped love for his brother. Somehow, Reborn had gained his respect. A sociopath once interested, was a goldmine, unless you were the person they were interested in. If you got a psycho person to kill all your enemies, it would be good, especially if they wanted to go into a suicidal mission because they were interested in it. If they were your ally, however, it wasn't a good thing.

"Kufufufu, the Sun Arcobaleno ripped a knife out of his eye before heading out after the Vindice to Vendicare. Apparently they have a boss named Bermuda who took Tsuna hostage. When the Rain demanded he explain the Sun only said we'd end up like Tsuna and disappeared."

"Did my future self know anything about this?" asked Natsu.

Hibari narrowed his eyes at the Vongola Decimo. "The omnivore never said anything. He walked out to that meeting, intending to die. He froze the little animal to the ground with his ice, gave him his piece of the ring, and left."

"How'd I die?"

"Boss Giotto played a game of Russian Roulette with Byakuran and lost." said Chrome. "After that Bossu called the TYL guardians here and broke all the rings."

"Are you looking through my memories again, Nagi?" Mukuro's voice had an edge to it that clearly told her to stay out. Chrome smiled.

"Boss should know. We need to get Bossu back so we need as much information as possible. Byakuran needs to be defeated, r-right? So, I want to try hard, for Bossu. I'll become stronger."

"Yes," Basil agreed. "since Sawada-dono isn't here, Akitoshi-dono will have to train to be able to fight Byakuran."

"Akitoshi-dono?" Chrome whispered.

"It would be confusing if I called them both Sawada so Master Natsuhiko is Akitoshi-dono, after his mother, since he hates Iemitsu-dono."

"So what's the plan?" asked Lal.

Natsu grinned. "Chaos. Pure chaos."

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**Finally we've reached up to where the first chapter left off: Luce! I also gave Natsu some more screentime (this chapter was very choppy and not laid out all the way so I had to rewrite the entire thing differently from how it was in my notebook).**

Special thanks to Rekishichizu, for helping me think about what Natsu's weapon might be. Honorary Mentions go to MisanthropicGoddess, who recommended me some great anime, Aquarius-74 whom recommended me a great song that fits this story as well. It's a bit late, but ah well.

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**Q: **Would anyone like to try to describe Natsu in three-to-seven words?

_**Not edited **_

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	17. I Volunteer As Tribute

**Red**

**Chapter Seventeen**

It had been two weeks since Tsuna had last seen Jager and Bermuda. Two weeks since he'd seen Reborn, since he'd seen Natsu and their shared guardians. Two days of being locked up in a goddamn cell (which was more like a stone room with a blanket on the floor that was supposed to act as a bed).

Luce visited him often. She brought him food and water and sometimes talked with him when he asked questions. She was nice, and could easily be told apart by the other Vindice by the way only half her face was bandaged and how she wore the white ripped up dress. It was slightly stained by dirt and grime at the edge of the dress near her ankles, and the orange piece that wrapped around the dress looked darker than it should have been, considering all the mud that caked it.

He could tell that Luce was different quite easily from the other Vindice by her attitude as well. She would smile and show emotions, and would engage Tsuna in conversations when she wasn't bothered by handling prisoners or making food for them in the dusty kitchens that Tsuna was sure occupied Vendicare somewhere. She was also a former Sky, and had formerly held a piece of the Trinisette, the Sky Arcobaleno's pacifier.

"How is Reborn?" asked Tsuna once Luce visited him the first time that day. "I-is he okay?"

Luce stood for a few seconds, thinking, and then put the food tray by Tsuna's feet. She said nothing, and only turned to walk away, but Tsuna abandoned his place by the corner and leapt forward and grabbed the edge of Luce's orange ribbon that hung around her waist.

"Please! I know it's been at least a week, if not more." He said. "So please, he's not dead is he? You can at least tell me that, Luce! You're his true sky, so even if you have a different flame and you're being manipulated by Bermuda, you can tell if he's dead or not."

Luce looked down at him, her one eye narrowed in what Tsuna could only guess was a hollow sort of glare.

"He is close, but he is dying. A vampire cannot survive more than a month without blood, and he only has another week before his body shuts down." Luce told Tsuna, an allusive frown on her face. "He will arrive here and then Bermuda will take his pacifier in his weakened state, and he will join our ranks. With his fighting skill and vampire traits, the Vindice will easily win the Representative battle and kill Checkerface. I will do anything to achieve that goal, even if I have to fight my own elements to do so."

Luce moved away from him again, and Tsuna lost his grip. He let his hand drop to the floor and looked helpless at Luce. He bit his lip, bitter towards what had happened to him, and towards the Vindice for what they'd done to his mentor.

"Wait, please." Tsuna said, testing Luce's patience. "I-if there was another vampire that could fight instead of Reborn, would Bermuda allow that?"

"Are you proposing to become the next Sky Arcobaleno and a vampire for your mentor's sake, Sawada Tsunayoshi?" questioned Bermuda, whom stood in the doorway. Tsuna hadn't sensed him, nor he had seen the door open, yet there was the Vindice's leader and boss. It unnerved him greatly, not being attuned to his presence.

"Y-yes." Fear was what Tsuna felt, and his heart beat fast, and his flame writhed inside of him in its own will, wanting to lash out at anything near it. Tsuna held it in, knowing that attacking Bermuda would do no good. He didn't feel like getting tapped on the forehead again and having intruding Night flames messing with his system. "I'm Reborn's apprentice. He taught me, so I know how to fight. So...if I take the Sky pacifier from Yuni and get turned by Luce, you'll turn me into a Vindice a-and you'll spare Reborn. Then I'll help you, so Reborn won't have to suffer. I'm human. I didn't expect to live long anyways, and no one really needs me. I'm useless and no-good. I can't do anything right. At least with that, I can help."

"Tsuna," whispered Luce, gazing at the brunet with a unreadable expression on her face. "That isn't the best opt-,"

Bermuda considered Tsuna for a moment. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, s-so please leave Reborn alone. Luce can warp more times than the others because she used to be a sky, right? And vampire's can manipulate their flames better than humans, right? Which is why Luce and Reborn and them can stay in their adult forms despite being cursed as babies. So that means that if I become a Vindice, I'll still have a mind and emotions, plus I'll be able to warp more times than if Reborn was turned into a Vindice. That would help you, wouldn't it? You can't refuse an offer like that."

Tsuna could have sworn Bermuda was grinning. It wasn't unlike Reborn's grin when he tormented his students and apprentice for amusement. It wasn't a very good sign, and in all honestly Tsuna had probably just fallen into a trap, and fucked himself over, but then again, he somehow probably would've done something worse had he waited.

"I accept you offer, Tsunayoshi-kun." said Bermuda. "I do hope we'll get along well, for your sake."

Tsuna could only nod, unable to stomach the words. He had just signed a contract with the devil, but he'd do anything for family. Reborn had saved his life, and now Tsuna was going to repay that debt. He had to be successful, his plan had to work, for all their sakes.

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(End of Notebook 3, current pages typed: 215, words: ~92,233 (this is with all the non-edited versions, since I edit it on the fanfiction document uploader, not the Microsoft word one), chapters: ~17)

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Natsu along with Lal, his guardians and Bianchi (who had bombed the place with poison prior to their entrance) had invaded Byakuran's headquarters. A planned attack, but one that failed – except for one unplanned run-into Yuni.

It took Natsu, who was a bit banged up, and Lal, one look to see the pretty little shiny blue crystal that was set on a bed. Only that pretty little shiny blue crystal was actually Lal's boss, Yuni, whom was frozen in ice. TYL Natsuhiko's ice, which was quiet concerning, considering the last time the man had been there, it had been to walk to his death in a game of Russian Roulette. To see the Black Spell boss frozen in ice which surely not even Byakuran could melt, it was most concerning.

"Yuni?" Lal placed a hand on the ice, and then whipped her head back to look at Natsu. "You must unfreeze her. If your future self did this..."

"He must have done it for a reason." said Hayato, frowning. He was biting his lip, looking to the side and downwards at the girl on the bed, putting one hand on his chin. He wasn't injured as much as Takeshi had been, and had continued to travel with the main group and left the few injured back in the safe spot; where Shouchi's labs were. "I can't imagine Juudiame freezing her for nothing."

"She's the second boss." said Lal. "Natsuhiko must have frozen her with the intent to stop her. She can order around grunts of the Millefiore just as easily as Byakuran can. We have to unfreeze her; she's the last person besides Byakuran that could have seen Natsuhiko. She can give us answers too."

"She's working for him!" growled Natsu, throwing out a hand and blocking Lal's way. Lal glared at him. "We have no idea why she's frozen. For all we know, she could already be dead, and that's just a corpse there, frozen just so Byakuran has something _pretty_ to look at. I know myself. I wouldn't freeze her so perfectly. She's laying down in the ice, and her eyes are closed. She clearly wasn't trying to fight my future self – that isn't something someone who followed Byakuran would do, is it?"

"What are you suggesting?" asked Hayato, doubtful. If what Natsu said was true, the girl was likely already dead. It made sense.

"I think she was dead. But I also think that my future self froze her to keep that pacifier away from Byakuran. Tsunayoshi must have figured it out – that's why he broke the rings – to make it so Byakuran could never fully complete the Trinisette."

Lal's eyes were wide.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she snarled. "If that's true, then all that we did was for nothing! It doesn't matter what Byakuran does – if there's no more Vongola rings, there's no more Sky Arcobaleno pacifier! It's dormant sealed in that ice."

"True." Hayato stepped forward, to look down at the girl encased in the ice. "I don't think that future Decimo would've sent us into the future if that wasn't the case. I think...I think we're meant to unfreeze her. Future Juudiame must have known that'd we'd come here, and knew that we'd have the Vongola rings. There's no other explanation. He planned his death, didn't he? So why not plan a few steps ahead of that? It was obvious that we were going to attack the Millefiore sometime. We wouldn't just sit put, knowing that we were losing more people by the minute."

"The hell with it." said Natsu, pushing past Hayato and putting his hands out, fingers splayed, on the ice. Flames burned at the ice, but it did nothing more than turn the ice a tiny bit darker. Hayato put his own hand forward. "We need the other rings. Go get Takeshi and the others. We've already destroyed most of the base, and Byakuran and his annoying fangirl guardians are probably gone. There won't be any more threats here."

"Says the one whose entire back of his shirt is burnt and who has burn marks on his arms," sneered Lal, crossing her arms impatiently. "you've got more injuries than all of us combined. You jump into every battle without even thinking about it!"

"That was only the witch-afro-girl. She was annoying. It reminded me of Mochida trying to hit on my twin." said Natsu in a calm tone. "Plus Chrome wanted her hat, so I got her hat."

"You stole the enemies' witch hat and killed them just because your little Mist Guardian wanted it?" Lal shook her head. "I will never understand you. Natsuhiko was much easier to work with."

Natsu raised his head up. "How so?"

"He hardly ever talked, and when he did, he'd curse out the Millefiore worse than I've seen anybody curse before. Scared the shit out of Byakuran first time it happened, I don't think he was prepared for Natsuhiko to act so casual and swearing him out the first time they met. After that it was Tsunayoshi he met, since they acted as the same person, and Byakuran didn't look so good seeing a completely polite, nice, smiling Vongola Decimo that time around."

"Aa." Natsu made a noncommittal noise, nodding. "Go get the other guardians, would you Rain? If you want your boss to be unfrozen, I'd hurry. I don't know how long we'll be able to stay here before Byakuran loses his shit and tries to nuke us."

Lal just glared.

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They were forced to flee soon after. Then Byakuran's ("long ass speech you took from some idiot's blog," commented Natsu) speech about the Choice game came. Their enemy was right above them; Reborn and Tsuna were gone, and Natsu's only motivation was to find Tsuna, not fight the Millefiore boss, which was already leading to problems. Not only that, but TYL Hibari was dead, and younger Kyouya had come out instead. Along with him, younger Mukuro had popped up in his TYL self's stead and had announced quickly that TYL Reborn and TYL Tsunayoshi were wrecking havoc in Namimori and giving the Ninth boss of the Vongola a heart attack with the collateral damage their fight was making.

Then, to add to all their trouble, their guide/teacher Lal Mirch was literally dying each day and could barely stand. Chrome and Mukuro could only do so much with putting an illusion over her to prolong her life when they didn't know the specifics of the poison they were trying to ward off.

"Boss," called Chrome. "Shouchi-san wants to examine your zero gun."

Natsu nodded. "Alright then," he said, then to Hayato and Takeshi, "we're done here. Remember the plan or else I'll freeze you."

The Storm and Rain guardians both said their affirmatives and Natsu went to Chrome's side. She led him to one of the upper levels where both Shouchi and Spanner were working.

Spanner had been a little bit of an oddity. After Natsu had accidently frozen all his machines once they got within three feet of him when said machines spooked him, the blonde haired man had given his loyalties to the Vongola. Apparently he'd met with future Natsuhiko before the man had died. Whatever Natsuhiko had told Spanner, it was enough to get the man to join the Vongola and make a few new inventions for them as well with Shouchi's help.

When he walked through the door, Shouchi jumped out of his seat and dodged his way through numerous stacks of paperwork and broken machinery to get to him. Once he was in front of Natsu, holding his stomach a bit, he held up a tiny box in one hand.

"What is it?"

"Future Tsuna used to use contacts to control his X Burner. You should give them to him when he comes back." said Shouchi. "It measures his flame input and output so that it doesn't explode on him."

"X Burner?" Natsu frowned. "It sounds troublesome if something like that was backfired on us. I haven't ever seen him use this X Burner, or whatever stupid name you call it. Reborn will kill me if I refuse anyways. Probably."

Shouchi's eyes seemed to lighten, and the man held back a grin. "You really are like your future self when you say that. Aat least before you died. You knw you were going to die, but you went to that meeting anyways." He said. "You're different now though, your flame isn't as controlled, but you show more emotion than Natsuhiko did, Natsu-kun. Natsuhiko was very troubled before he died. I don't know why he froze Yuni, I had no idea where she was. I thought Byakuran had killed her. To know that he did that...I don't have a clue on what could have convinced him to do it. Natsuhiko never did anything unless Tsunayoshi-san and Reborn promised him something."

Natsu glared at the inventor. He had no interest in his future self that had decided to die. Whoever did something as idiotic as that Natsu had no respect for. His future self must have been crazy to do so. "I could care less," he said. "I probably did it because I didn't want to lose. Tsuna's mine, so if Byakuran killed him, I'd probably murder every single person on the planet. Tsuna falling into Byakuran's hands, or dying because of him would have probably irked me a lot, so I probably chose to go instead of Tsuna. Or something. I don't know any of the details, and nobody tells me anything about my future self – like they're scared of him or something. I have no idea what he did besides walking into his death, or why _I _seem better now than then, but whatever."

"So you do care about him, then." Shouchi said, ignoring the last part wisely. He shoved the box in Natsu's hands and stepped back, pulling his arms close to his stomach. He smiled weakly. "Your future self did too. I don't believe you'll change as much as your future self did. Seeing you now, I doubt you'd react the same way Natsuhiko did to what happened. Tsuna won't ever forgive you fully I know that much at least. Natsuhiko told me about you, his past self. You, and Tsuna, are very different, Natsu-kun."

"I don't care about what Tsuna thinks," Natsu resisted the hot burning in his chest that told him to lunge forward and choke Shouchi, and instead stayed put standing. "I don't regret beating him. He's mine. However, I just realized that the way I went about things wasn't as beneficial as it is now. There's no difference. I know Tsuna's scared of me. He's terrified I'll go back, and I don't care. As long as he doesn't try to run, I won't do anything."

"And what about the Sun Arcobaleno?" asked Shouchi, knowing he was stepping on a thin line. The red string of fate was going to shatter if he pressed any further, but he needed to know how this Natsu was compared to his future self. Otherwise this Natsu wouldn't defeat Byakuran because Shouchi could see as clearly as anyone else that this Natsu didn't have the right resolve. "What do you think about Reborn's role in all of this? He's Tsuna's mentor, and as I've heard, has been getting in your way ever since you first met. Byakuran wants him dead."

Natsu snorted. "If I can't kill him, Byakuran certainly won't. He's not normal, and he's not as forgiving as Tsuna. He already ruined my ankle once and beat the shit out of me. He's shot me twice. I know better than to push him. Unlike my foolish future self, I have no plan to _die _so soon."

Shouchi smiled.

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The plan was set. Tsuna would go through a portal to the Choice Battles (the Vindice knew everything it seemed, and Tsuna had no intention of disagreeing. He had no idea if Bermuda would stick to the deal or not.) and grab Yuni and go back through the portal without anyone noticing. Luce would follow him in case he tried to run and in case someone (read: Byakuran) tried to kill him.

The Vindice couldn't have their new companion dying after all.

Such was the plan, except that dragging away a vampire girl who was faster and stronger than him would be near impossible, which meant Tsuna had to get her to come willingly or he'd be caught (in enemy territory no less).

He'd also see his guardians – and Natsu. It pained Tsuna to think about it. He hadn't seen them for so long, and yet he had to leave them so soon. It was one of the few things that he regretted making the deal with Bermuda about.

There was also the fact that Reborn could arrive at any moment and stop him. Tsuna knew that if Reborn showed up before this was all said and done, it would be Reborn that would suffer, and Tsuna would lose his mentor. He owed Reborn, and Tsuna knew that if Reborn saved his life, then he could at least do this for him. He was going to act on his own. He wouldn't hide behind Reborn's shadow any longer.

Tsuna could see Bermuda watching him carefully. Though he was better than Reborn due to his Sky Flames as a position for a Vindice, he wasn't as good of a fighter. However, a Sky could hold a lot more Night flames than a Sun, and that meant Tsuna could easily short warp and use his fighting skills that he had gathered to kill others much better than Reborn could run. Thus, Tsuna was a bit better than the hitman in Bermuda's eyes. If Tsuna stepped out of line, Reborn would be taken, and he'd be killed or seriously injured and forced to watch it all happen.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Luce, a look of worry on her half-bandaged face. "He'll try to stop you, you know. You'll have to fight against him, and your friends, and your twin, Tsuna."

Tsuna gave a trembling lift of his lips to the former Sky next to him. "I'll have no regrets as long as Reborn lives. When the pacifiers are cancelled and the Arcobaleno are no longer cursed, I don't want Reborn to suffer here as a Vindice."

"But you will." Luce continued on, looking down at the shorter male. She held respect for Bermuda – she acknowledged him as her boss, but she also had much more sense than the revenge-obsessed fools in the Vindice. She had overcome her insanity for Checkerface's death, but she was also bound to the Vindice's leader. "All this just for Reborn? For a vampire that has lived far longer than you? I-I was his Sky, his dearest person, but..." she shook her head, closing her one eye, and put her hands on Tsuna's shoulders.

"He saved my life. This is my way of saving his." Tsuna told her.

The chill of the prison in the mountains sought its way underneath Tsuna's thin jacket. He shivered. The creepy atmosphere didn't help to cool his mind or bring down the stress that he felt. He swallowed.

"What about your guardians?" asked Luce.

She was trying so hard to convince Tsuna not to do what he was about to do. She had lost her own guardians, and her mother to the force that was called the Vindice. She'd been ripped away from them without the ability to even say goodbye. For someone to abandon their guardians willingly – and to sacrifice themselves for someone they'd only met what was a short while ago to her – was unthinkable.

"They have Natsu," said Tsuna, trying to convince himself of it. "they'll survive."

"And your mother?"

Tsuna flinched. "She doesn't live with us anymore. She loves us, but she couldn't see past Iemitsu to truly see us. Sometimes she'd see Natsu and call him Iemitsu. That hurt him. Especially after Kyoko's death. I don't really view that woman as my mother...not anymore, Luce. I loved her, but she couldn't see that."

Luce suddenly leaned forward, and press her forehead against Tsuna's, smiling with tearful eyes. "It will hurt." she whispered.

"I know." replied Tsuna. He allowed her – and himself – this brief moment of peace. He'd only heard the stories about her, but stories were enough to describe Luce's kindness.

"You won't be the same afterwards. They'll rip away your flames when they take the pacifier, then Bermuda's Night flames will come, and that's worse. It will burn you, scar you so that you'll never forget it. It won't be as nice as your own flame. It will be like a constant dying will state that will ruin your body. You'll decay at a far slower pace than the others, but you will still feel it. The pain will drive you mad, Tsuna. And you'll always be hungry. Thirsty for blood. You won't have to drink once you turn into a Vindice, but the feeling will always be there despite your body not needing it anymore."

"I-," began Tsuna, but was cut off by the damned baby from hell, Bermuda.

"Enough. He has made his decision. You will not persuade him otherwise, Luce. Do not forget that you will be fighting as well. You know Jager's technique, so copy that. I won't have you slacking off."

"Of course, Bermuda-sama," responded Luce automatically, stepping away from the brunet near her.

"Come here, Tsunayoshi-kun." ordered Bermuda. He stood in front of a recently opened portal of flames. Tsuna walked to his side, and awaited instructions. He was sure by the lighting up of his Hyper Intuition that Tsuna's eyes were orange by now.

"Once you step through here, you will arrive at the ending of the Choice Battle that the Millefiore brat set up. I suspect Byakuran will attempt to trap the Sky Arcobaleno. You must convince the girl to come with you or Luce will be forced to intervene. You have five minutes to do so or I will send Jager after you. Then you will take her pacifier, she will live, but will not be very happy. This is when she will likely turn you into a vampire, and then you will allow Luce to take the pacifier away from you. She will give it back to the Sky Arcobaleno, who will be healed because of your blood and you will take on the flames of Night. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Tsuna's voice was dull. He had accepted what was going to happen, and there was no use trying to look scared and get out of it. He was resigned to his fate and there was nothing that was going to stop him once he had a regret. He was going to save Reborn, and it was going to kill him.

"Good." Bermuda practically purred. "Now step through the portal. I cannot guarantee that Reborn will not show up. He is already inside the prison as we speak. If you fail, Tsunayoshi..."

It was a threat left unsaid. Tsuna knew. If he failed, Rebron would become a Vindice instead, and for as weak as the blood-deprived vampire was, Reborn wouldn't be able to avoid the act of losing his pacifier. However, Bermuda honored a person's word, as they would in the old days, so Tsuna knew that Bermuda would not harm Reborn too bad if he did what was told of him.

Luce stood silently. Tsuna looked back at her one last time, and she smiled a wry smile, and nodded.

"Sayonara, Tsuna."

Tsuna only let one tear fall down his face before he stepped through the black portal of flames, and disappeared from view. Luce opened her own portal, and stepped through it. She would watch from afar. She had to make sure he didn't die. If not for what he believed in, but by what her old self believed in, and for her dear Sun, Reborn.

_Sayonara, Tsuna, _thought Luce, closing her one eye. _When you come back, you'll only be a broken boy without any regret. I'm sorry I couldn't help you. Reborn values you so much, and since I was his Sky, I have to as well. I'm sorry I couldn't protect him, Reborn. Forgive me for all that I've done, mother. I never meant for this to happen._

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**There will be a lot of delay in upcoming chapters** (meaning not that many updates) since I'm close to where my notebook writing ends, which means once Notebook 4 is finished, I'm going to be writing the chapters from scratch.

Ew. Generally typing each chapter up takes about four or five hours, depending on how long that is (and I have a notebook with it already written, I just have to type it up on my laptop), and editing (if I chose to do it…hahaha insert nervous laughing here since I don't do that on half the chapters) takes about an hour and a half. So that's 6-7 hours that it takes out of my day. Writing it? From scratch? I'd be upping the time to probably 8-10 hours. Scary. Plus that means more time spent planning, inserting foreshadowing about something I haven't written yet, and just general horribleness. I have the ending planned out in my head, but attempting to write all that will take time.

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Sorry about any confusion. Any questions you have I'll reply to as soon as possible – can be about anything.

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**Not edited because I wanted to post this as soon as possible. Please point out any mistakes, and I'll edit it later. I rather like how I messed with the chapter, compared to the previous versions of it.**

**.**

Next chapter will be Natsu's POV at the start. Get ready for the craziness.

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**Q: **What's your favorite song/anime-opening/ending? I need something to listen to. Can be a big list if you really have that many – I need new songs!


	18. The Part Where You Cry

**Red**

**Chapter Eighteen**

The Choice games were just that: games. Natsu held no preference over winning or losing, since giving the rings to Byakuran wasn't going to happen either way. If Byakuran did happen to best them and steal their rings away, Natsu would freeze himself in his own ice so that the sky ring would never be reachable. It was a measure that no one else could have thought of, and a big one at that, but Natsu had assured everyone in his group that it was much better than letting Byakuran get control of not only their world, but all the other worlds as well.

One person was never meant to hold the entire Trinisette.

With this explained to the guardians, they were very lax with how they handled their opponents. Yuni helped this matter, since she showed them the pacifiers she was hiding under her cloak, and explained the plan of how reviving the Arcobaleno would greatly reduce Byakuran's chances of obtaining the Trinisette. While the guardians nor anyone else liked the idea, Natsu shut up the complaints rather easily.

Yuni desperate look convinced him that it was the girl's duty. She was dead-set on dying to revive the Arcobaleno, and no one was going to stop her.

Not only that, but Natsu knew that the girl was a vampire; unlike everyone else, who thought she was human. She had needed his blood the moment she woke up, so he'd unfrozen her with the Vongola rings alone. That being said, Natsu's neck was sore, and Yuni was depressed. She didn't cling to Natsu. She knew better. However, she trailed behind him and didn't let him out of her sight. A sky's blood – a vampire's blood could heal her injuries; and since Giotto had long ago taken Reborn's blood to be his servant of sorts, Natsu had the same quality as Tsuna did with the whole healing properties thing. Yuni explained it as best she could.

Takeshi had quickly recovered from his fallout with Genkishi. Natsu had said the few words of, "Suck it up. We all lose and get defeated at one point, Takeshi. Even me. The thing that matters is standing back up and taking down the enemy. You want to rescue Tsuna as much as I do, don't you? He's your Sky."

Needless to say, Takeshi had trained relentlessly after that with his two box animals and in the art of using more than one sword. Hayato joined him, with Mukuro and Hibari watching from the sidelines as Chrome skipped to the two sparring and promptly fucked it up by creating an illusion of a pool underneath them. Apparently Chrome thought that they both needed to cool down, and instead of being stressed, find a fun thing to do while they were still surviving. It had ruined the Rain and Storm guardians' spar, but had indeed improved their spirits at the time.

Chrome still wore her white dress, but added to her outfit was the witch hat Natsu had stolen from the enemy. With her black eyepatch and hat, it fit her rather well. She also tied back her hair in a low ponytail with a black ribbon, to complete the whole white-black look. Mukuro didn't approve, since Chrome looked like her past self Nagi, and it would be easy for anyone to figure out her identity if they actually looked, but no matter how much tempting, Chrome refused to change her look.

Chrome didn't want to erase her past, she didn't want to forget it. Her way of reminding herself what she'd been through, and how that if she could survive that, then she could survive anything, was through keeping her look similar to how it had been when she had been known by the name of Nagi.

After Takeshi's battle, Natsu had his. Only it was against some annoying Mist user.

Natsu didn't like illusions. Especially illusions of his twin, something that was his, dying in front of him. He wasted no time in putting off the fight and just blew up everything by shooting a torrent of flames-turned-ice one way, and violent, burning dark flames another with his two guns. He'd quickly killed the enemy.

They all knew that they couldn't leave the Millefiore alive. If they did, they'd only cause a problem in the future with the Decimo Tsunayoshi and Juudiame Natsuhiko.

It was all going good and fine until Shouchi, in Natsu's words, "fucked up," and tried to get himself killed. In the end, they'd all end up gathered in one spot, and Yuni had appeared in front of Byakuran to stop him from blasting the Vongola with his white dragon.

A look of anger flashed across Natsu's face when Byakuran stole Yuni away. The girl had just damned her family and wouldn't even fight back. She was weak, and he hated weak things because the weak always died – just like Kyoko.

"Yuni!" yelled Lal, trying to run forward towards the girl, who was held around her shoulders by Byakuran. TYL Ryohei stopped her by grabbing the necklace the Rain Pacifier hung off of.

"Let her go, Byakuran." said Natsu. "She's useless to you now, right? You can't brainwash her again. You never succeeded in the first place anyways, if I remember correctly. Her will is too strong."

"Ah, but she has my pacifiers, so she's still valuable to me." replied Byakuran. 'Sorry, but it looks like you lose again, Na-chan~!"

Byakuran smiled at Natsu, knowing he had won. Natsu knew he couldn't win a fight if he started one now; Yuni would get stuck in the crossfire. He didn't know if the girl would survive being burned or shot. He couldn't risk it.

Out of nowhere, something crashed into Byakuran, sending Yuni, squeaking in surprise, out of his hold, and sending the white-clad Millefiore boss flying nearly five feet away from the girl. Yuni gaped at the sight, and the Vongola and Millefiore officers stared in the same surprise.

Natsu's eyes widened.

Everyone stopped: the Vongola, the Funeral Wreaths, Byakuran, Yuni; because on the ground net to the Sky Arcobaleno was Natsu's long lost twin, Sawada Tsunayoshi.

"D-Decimo?" whispered Hayato. "T-Tsuna-sama?"

"Wh-what the-!" Shouchi was not expecting this. This was not part of Natsuhiko's or Tsunayoshi's plan. He knew Tsuna had disappeared, and he had been concerned about it – but to come back now of all times was the possibly worst moment he could come back.

"So the other twin has finally arrived." said Spanner, looking bored. He stood next to Hibari and Chrome, in the middle of the two, chewing on his candy. "That was unexpected."

"Oya oya, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"Sawada?" Lal could hardly breathe, but even so, she fought through the poison in her system to get her voice out. Mukuro and Chrome's illusions could only do so much. "But you got taken away by the Vindice! Reborn went after you!"

Tsuna gave a weak smile, one that spoke of a reality that wasn't there, and of regret that Tsuna could not convey through words. Then, he turned his head away from the Vongola, and focused his attention on Yuni. Byakuran, recovering from the body smashing into him, stood up, and let the meeting proceed. He was smirking. This was something nobody had anticipated.

"Yuni..." Tsuna started, but broke off, whipping his head to the right to look at a building. When Natsu glanced to see what it was, there was nothing there. Nevertheless, Tsuna held his gaze there for a moment too long, and then looked back at Yuni, a desperate sort of look in his eyes. The one of a broken man who had been abandoned by his wife, or of a mother that had lost her son in a war. He trembled slightly. "Please...this is so much to ask of you, and I've only just met you, but please, Yuni, come with me? You...you have read Luce's dairy, so you know what will happen next – what has been happening to Reborn?"

Yuni nodded mutely.

She had heard of Tsuna, and had met his future self in fights. The man was a fierce one, but held the eyes of one who had seen too much. He never fought her seriously. Now, here was the boy, still with the level of stress that showed he had gone through too much. He was serious, she knew. Anything that concerned Reborn and the Vindice was serious. She hadn't told anyone about it; so she knew the Vongola and Millefiore had no way to follow their conversation.

"Reborn will die again. I-I'm trying to stop that. I-I need to help them in Reborn's place, s-so-," Tsuna's breath hitched. He sniffled, and then fell to his knees in front of the kneeling Yuni. Yuni reached forward slowly, swallowing, and trembling herself, and hugged him. She pulled him close, letting his forehead rest against her chest. He started again, "I promised I'd protect him, Y-Yuni. S-so please, help me. R-Reborn won't ever forgive me for this, b-but if its for him...th-then I-! I want to do whatever it takes. That is my...my dying will."

It was a quiet whisper, one that only Yuni could hear, besides the small heaves and sobs that Tsuna gave. Byakuran narrowed his eyes, and prepared to move forward. Kikyo also stepped into place, moving so that he was blocking Yuni's escape route towards the open space between two buildings. Natsu positioned himself as well, with Chrome by his side, ready to defend the Sky that was theirs with their lives.

Yuni's voice sounded like a broken clarinet, "Y-you," she cut herself off, pulling back so she could see his face. "but you're not like me. Why...why would they agree?" She was confused; Tsuna was no vampire, and the Vindice were after Reborn for that very reason. A vampire's speed plus the ability to short warp, as Yuni had read in Luce's dairy before the woman had disappeared, was dangerous.

Tsuna's eyes were orange, Yuni saw. This meant something – probably a threat, was near. She had no doubt of what would happen to him if he failed, and she had no desire to let him die, or go against the Vindice. She knew her own strengths and weakness'. Yuni knew she wasn't a fighter. She could fight, true, and shoot a gun, but she had no way to use her flames properly with the Sky pacifier tying her down. She also had no point to fight, for she hated it greatly, and enjoyed nothing about the idea of beating someone so far that they bled, or to kill someone. She saw every life as someone precious; a few she would most likely not keep, unless she mysteriously turned out like Luce. Luce was an anomaly; a vampire that valued humans and saw them as equals. Reborn, Yuni knew, saw them as inferior, since they were useless at fights and only lasted a century at most. She was young now, and only a teenager in human years, but she knew soon enough she would stop aging; and when that time came, she would no longer be able to stay with her famiglia any longer.

"Come with me, please?" Tsuna smiled a pathetic smile that wasn't really a smile. "Turn me, then you'll get the pacifier back once it's done. It will only take an hour at most."

"I-I can't condemn you to that fate, Tsuna." said Yuni. "You've only just lived. I have so many years ahead of me, even if I'm younger than you. You don't. Don't curse yourself for this – there has to be another way." she paused for just a second. "There always is."

"But Reborn is-,"

Yuni shook her head, digging her fingernails into his shoulders as she held them. "He's lived for longer than anyone else. He's already lived his life."

"If Reborn becomes our enemy, that's worse than me. With me, Reborn could defeat me and win. Reborn's more skilled than me. I wouldn't be able to fight him, Yuni. So please, for all of us? Please, I-I...I'm begging you. I-I need to do this, Yuni. You've seen the future – so please!"

Yuni held back on squeezing his shoulders and drew away. She shook her head sadly, closing her eyes. It reminded Tsuna greatly of Luce. They were almost one in the same. Only Luce was older, and held an air of helplessness around her, as if she didn't have any will left to try, while Yuni had hope; but it was a hope that was wasted in a future that only spoke of her death.

"My future is clouded. I will truly become what I am, soon."

Tsuna looked closely at her. His eyes prickled with tears. In the tiniest voice he whispered, "You're going to die?"

She nodded.

"Then...even so, even you must see how this will be better than R-Reborn." said Tsuna, finally convincing her. "So, please? Come with me?"

"You," said Yuni. "really are Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun, aren't you?" she let out a small, genuine smile, despite knowing what fate would await them, and pressed forward. "I-I'll do it. They'll kill you if you fail, right? That's what they do." Yuni held Tsuna's hand tightly. "Uncle Reborn won't like this at all."

Yuni stopped talking to look at Byakuran, then at Natsu, and sighed. She looked over at the same building Tsuna had the first moment he'd crashed their party, and nodded. "Shall we? I'm afraid I might bite you if you stay close like that. Your blood is finer than Natsu's after all."

Tsuna gave a humorless laugh and then, the two were gone. It was the sort of gone you would think that the only possibility was teleporting. There was only a flash of white in front of his eyes, and then nothing. There was no Tsuna, no Yuni, and no forbidding presence in the back of Natsu's mind that told him the darkness was near. Natsu blinked, not sure just what he'd seen, and Byakuran began to laugh.

"So it's like that, is it?" Byakuran said with joy jumping through his voice. "Foolish Arcobaleno."

Natsu didn't get the chance to shoot the white-haired freak before the transporter whisked them away. He glared at the man as they rose up into the sky. Beside him, Chrome put a hand on his head and ruffled his hair. He growled, swiping out a flame covered hand at her face without a care if it actually burned her or not.

Chrome shook her head when he looked at her. They both knew they couldn't afford to go after Byakuran again. Tsuna was already gone, and dwelling in the past wasn't going to help things. They'd all lost the Sky Arcobaleno, and it was doubtful she was going to come back. While they couldn't have heard what Tsuna and Yuni were talking about, it was clear that neither were particularly happy about what was happening. If anything happened to Tsuna, Natsu wasn't just going to sit still and watch as it happened.

Byakuran's laughter echoed through his ears, and the image of his defeated, broken twin haunted his vision. Natsu clenched his fists at his sides, his anger rising. If only he was faster, if only he'd reached Tsuna, what was his would be here by his side. Natsu seethed.

"This won't happen again." promised Natsu, in a sort of way that a feral cat might hiss. "I promise you that, dame-Tsuna. You're mine. I won't let anything touch you, twin. You're _mine."_

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Tsuna hadn't expected this. It wasn't a pain he had ever felt anything similar to, and it drove him to the darkest edges of his mind, where his demons lay at wait, where his deepest thoughts and secrets resided. The part of himself he hated.

It was bad when Yuni had been separated from his pacifier and the _goddamn_evil_disgusting_horrid_monster _item had been given to him.

It was worse when Yuni had bitten down on his neck and drained him of his blood. The panic-induced state that had fallen onto his shoulders had sent his mind spinning and the thoughts of death near as he nearly passed out. It was only the saving grace of Yuni shoving her wrist towards his mouth and forcing him to drink that saved him. Of course, that small piece of nothingness in his mind didn't last long, for the thoughts of darkness and revenge and deep fear and _tear_rip_kill _came back.

It was horrible when the _thirst_hunger_starvation_ had come and he had thrown himself at the nearest blood source, which happened to be young Yuni, who was screaming in her own right at the agony of being separated from her flames. He had been held back by Luce and Jager's combined efforts, but in the process Jager had gotten one of his fingers torn off while Tsuna's struggled, from the strength he had from the vampire properties he had obtained only moments before.

It was pure madness when the pacifier was ripped away from him and given back to Yuni. The girl's screams stopped almost immediately, and her flames flared around her for a moment before returning to their natural state sealed inside the pacifier. She took heavy breathes to regain herself, but backed far away from Tsuna. To go with that, _insanity_ consumed him when his flames were violently ripped away and _tainted_blackened_destroyed_replaced by Bermuda's flame of night.

Then, in a sharp moment of pure peace, Tsuna's mind went blank, and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

He awoke to yelling. The second thing he noticed was the cold, the chains pressed against him, and wrapped around his body. They hung off his wrist like another extension of his body. The third was the voice.

**P**_**a**__p__**a i**_s** h**_**e**__r_**e**

Somehow he knew that it was his Hyper Intuition. He had gotten it from Giotto, long ago when the man had become Reborn's servant (of sorts) and drank the vampire's blood. Tsuna knew this, and he knew that the ability of Giotto's so-called Hyper Intuition had expanded the moment he'd been turned into a vampire. Only, he wasn't sure that was a good thing. However, that didn't make sense because he was-

-_vampire_Vindice_not-human_hungry_thristy_revenge_kill-Checkerface_Reborn's-fault_Bermuda_dead_Yuni_Arcobaleno_gone_Luce_Skylost_broken_-_

He blinked.

"Re-born?" his voice was like the croak of a frog. He didn't mind, nor did he notice. The burning, the deep, the fear, the t_ear_rip_kill_ filled his mind, things brought from the darkest pits of his mind. The part he had previously hated.

His red eyes looked to where Reborn was, chained up, leaning against a wall. He soon realized what his Hyper Intuition meant.

"He's awake," said Bermuda. He stood in front of Tsuna, eyes locked onto Tsuna's red ones. "He won't be able to recognize us for a while. I'm surprised he even knows who you are, Reborn-kun. He won't be the same," the baby turned his head to the 'prisoner' leaning against the wall, a sure grin on his face beneath the nasty bandages. "he'll listen to my every command, and," Bermuda said it with a fair amount of glee, "he's mine."

Tsuna blinked again. He was _thirsty_ and he didn't know why. No, he did know, someone named Lu-_Luce luce luce LUCE _– had mentioned it. Tsuna wanted to know what was going on. He couldn't think, didn't know, couldn't do, couldn't be, didn't exist. The woman – the vampire – Luce had said that he didn't need to drink blood. Plus Reborn was here, but he wasn't supposed to be. He had made a _deal_contract_treaty_pledge that Reborn –_papa_sun_Arcobaleno_savior_mentor- _would be left out of this. That, out of all of it, he remembered.

It was the most important thing he remembered.

It also made him pissed off.

"Reborn," muttered Tsuna, louder this time. Both Bermuda and Reborn looked over as the brunet stood up, alarmed at his movement. He asked the most simple question one could ask in a clear, void, voice, "Why?"

In less than a second, Tsuna was grabbing onto Reborn's black clothes and yanking him up, forcing him to bend forward awkwardly on his knees. Tsuna made sure they were at the same eye level. Reborn's onyx eyes were wide in what Tsuna saw-recognized-knew as _surprise_shock_regret_sorrow_sadness_guilt.

Too many thoughts, too many, too many, Tsuna couldn't do it. Tsuna couldn't _think._

It was Reborn's fault. If he hadn't existed, Tsuna wouldn't be in this mess.

"Why?!" screamed Tsuna. "Why'd you come here? Why!"

Then he was grabbing the edges of Bermuda's cloak, using his vampire speed to move. Eyes red, fangs noticeable from the slight parting of his lips, Tsuna wasn't known as a human any longer. "We made a deal! He is not going to be turned into one of the Vindice! That, at least, I remember! My memories may be fuzzy, but I do know that. We must kill Checkerface, and I will get my revenge on that man for making Reborn and Luce and Yuni and Lal and Colonello and-and-and all of them-for the Arcobaleno, but-_but _Reborn isn't involved in that! Then, after that, I'll kill him for daring to get me in this entire mess, but we must kill _him _first. I will do anything to achieve that goal because he's harmed my family, and I won't let anyone get away with that! Then I'll kill him, kill Reborn," Tsuna didn't need to breathe, so it all happened fast. He held no pauses in his words. "for ruining my life!"

"T-Tsuna..." Reborn was speechless, for the first time in centuries. He held his mouth open a bit, and his eyes were widened just enough for someone who knew him well enough to see that what was happening to him wasn't normal.

"It's Tsunayoshi to you," snapped Tsuna, releasing Bermuda. "and don't talk to me. I hate you, Reborn."

Reborn's already wide eyes locked onto Tsuna's. Hate, fear, regret, insanity – he saw it all, and worst of all, the red-eyed gaze staring back at him that proved Tsuna was a vampire and sincerely hungry. Tsuna still had his normal clothes on, but they were slightly shredded from the transfer of Night flames that had burned them. His eyes were red, his skin was pale, showing that he had died and his body no longer lived anymore. While Luce was slightly rotted from her turn into a Vindice, Tsuna showed no signs of decomposing into bones. That, at least, was a positive.

Reborn smiled at his apprentice, who truly was no longer the person known as Sawada Tsunayoshi anymore. "You should have hated me long ago, _apprendista_. But that's fine, because you're no longer Tsuna. You're the enemy, which means I guess I have no one to take back."

Reborn lowered his head, his fedora shadowing his face.

"What will I tell the Vongola, Tsunayoshi? What will I tell your twin, Natsuhiko? Or should I say, Tsuna's twin, Tsuna's family?"

Reborn spoke in a harsh tone, completely unforgiving. The tone he spoke in that was reserved for traitors of the famiglia only. He knew he had just fucked himself over into fate's greedy hands. He hated things such as fate; Luce knew this best, but there was no other way for Reborn to think of it. Denial coursed through his mind, but he was strong, and he knew he couldn't give in to despair.

Tsuna stood still for a moment, his dying will's conflicting, his mind stopping as too many thoughts and two conflicting regrets of his past self and current self conflicted. Seeing this, Bermuda jumped in.

"Don't worry about what to tell them, Reborn-kun, because Tsunayoshi-kun will be going back with you." said the Vindice leader.

"What?"

Bermuda was grinning. "He will act normally and you will play along with the role. You will act like nothing is wrong, and you will do anything he commands. If you don't cooperate, Reborn-kun, then Tsunayoshi-kun here will kill himself. Understood, Tsunayoshi?"

"Yes." Tsuna responded immediately, but looking a bit confused, if the frown on his face was anything to go by. He had to obey his leader – it was the only voice that sent his thoughts scattering and threw in one clear order to his mind. He had to function around that. It was the only sane thing in his mind.

"Bermuda!" Reborn yelled, lunging forward at the baby, but failing due to the short reach the chains gave him. Bermuda only sneered at him.

"He's mine now, hitman." said Bermuda. "He can't refuse an order. Your rule is coming to an end, Reborn-kun. Chaos, Sun Arcobaleno."

Then, the Vindice leader was out of the room, floating away with Jager following, and Reborn was left alone with his apprentice. Reborn yelled out, kicked at the wall, and snapped one chain successfully before he gave up his fit of anger and laid dejectedly against the wall. In front of him, standing almost completely still, Tsuna grinned an awful, crazed grin, and said,

"Ne, ne, Reborn, would you like to play a game with me? It's only fair, after what you put my through~!" sung Tsuna, coming closer with a spin and grabbing onto Reborn's fedora. He took it off Reborn's head, and placed it on his own. "Let's play, _Papa_~!"

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**It was at this point** **that there were two alternate endings this story could have.** Route 1 was where Tsuna escapes Vendicare with Reborn and a bunch of crazies happen(**edit: **also...more tragic than this one, actually...this is the...better...route...which is scary but eh, there's character death in that one. and angst. and...crazy-stuff. I'll write it after finishing Route 2, which should only be a few 10 more chapters or so). Route 2 was where Tsuna became a Vindice and basically screws canon plot entirely. Right now, as its probably obvious, I'm writing Route 2. I have not written out Route 1 at all. Once we reach the end of this story, I was wondering if I should write out Route 1 as well, and just post that on as another set of chapters. Care to tell me what you guys think?

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It's short, I know. Words are bit weird. I'll see how it looks on fanfiction, and if I don't like it, I'll edit Tsuna's parts a bit.

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**Q: **If you could change one event/thing in your life, what would it be?

(I'd change how I never spent time with my dog. She was a swiss mountain dog. She was always outside when I was little, so I never really saw her much. Then one day I came home from school and she had died. I wish I'd spent more time with her.)


	19. Red CrackParody Chapter

**Red **

**Extra: What Happens When I Write Not-Seriously **

**(This isn't Route 1/any canon to the story. It's just me messing around. DO NOT CONSIDER THIS CANON!REDVERSE) **

**(This branches off from chapter 17/18)**

It was all going good, Luce thought. As good as anything could be in her mind, at least. Reborn had showed up and crashed the party, and Bermuda wasn't happy. Tsuna looked torn between crying and outright yelling at the vampire. The brunet was by Yuni, who was holding both her hands over her pacifier, as if that could somehow protect it from whatever damage would befall it if a fight broke out between Reborn and the Vindice.

Luce stood by, not moving from her position. She could ignore her boss for the moment. Only direct orders she couldn't. She had no will to kill Reborn, and she had no will to continue to follow Bermuda down his path of revenge. She had seen what it had done to people, long ago, back when her mother Sephira had been alive. She remembered the day Reborn had come back with her mother's body in his arms, crying, with her blood covering him. That was the day she had vowed that she'd never forgive Bermuda – but she had been young then, not more than a few years old at the age of ten, and hadn't understood what the future had held in store for her.

Now, Luce followed fate. The Sky Pacifier, in front of her, convinced her of that. Her granddaughter, looking scared, terrified even, of what was going to happen, convinced her. She wouldn't just stand by and let Bermuda do as he wanted. She knew if she disobeyed him, she would no longer have a supply of Night flames, and soon enough, that would lead to her death, but Luce didn't care. Now that they had a chance – now that Reborn stood in the room, in front of her dear granddaughter and Tsuna, she would stand up for herself.

"Reborn," she spoke with great derisiveness. "kill as many of them as you can. I'll protect Tsuna and Yuni. I'm strong enough to hold out against the others."

Reborn turned his head slightly to look at her, not betraying his surprise. He had an eyebrow raised. "Oh?" he said. "Deciding to rebel again, Luce? I didn't think that you of all people would fight. You hated fighting. I have no desire for you to end up like your mother, dear girl. Stand back. I've already restored my strength by drinking the blood of the prisoners here. I don't need help."

"Even so," Luce pursued. She held both her hands together against her stomach, a look of regret in her eyes. "I have done so many things that I regret. If you allow me this, after all the horrible things I've done, then I won't come near you, or them again. That, I promise you."

Reborn rolled his eyes, and then beckoned with one hand at Tsuna, still keeping a close eye on Bermuda. "Come here Tsuna, Yuni. Let's go back. We still have to beat Byakuran after all. I wouldn't want you doing something stupid like that again, Tsuna. Got that?"

Tsuna just stared, uncomprehendingly. Of all the things to happen, he hadn't expected his mentor to show up so soon. He had planned to save him – and yet now all of his plans were ruined at the last second because of Reborn's damned explosive entrance. He had wanted to save Reborn, wanted to pay him back for all that he'd done, and yet now he couldn't. Reborn was still at risk, even if he looked fine. The sun pacifier was clear to see, out in the open, and Tsuna knew that one wrong move would end up with it getting snatched away.

"Tsuna," said Yuni, a bright smile on her face as he turned to look at her. She grabbed his hand, and pulled him upwards with her as she stood up. He stood shakily, swaying a bit. "we have to hurry. I don't think Reborn can hold out for long, even with Luce's help."

Bermuda was surely glaring at them now. Tsuna honestly couldn't care to look at any of the Vindice; Luce included. The woman only took Yuni's hand, and dragged them through a black portal; straight into the middle of the Vongola's base. On the other hand, Reborn grinned at the Vindice, saluted, and jumped backwards and through the portal. Chains shot after him, but Reborn being Reborn laughed like a madman and batted them away gleefully. He had achieved his goal of rescuing Tsuna, and there was no way he was letting the boy go again. Vindice be damned, he was Reborn. He had lived nearly six hundred years, dealt with generations of the Vongola's annoying Hyper Intuition, and had ended countless wars between famiglia's with only a few bullets. Reborn wasn't going to give up so easily now that he had his apprentice back.

It was only five minutes later after wondering through the base did they find Fuuta and Bianchi, who looked more than just shocked to see them. The hitwoman had quickly phoned Natsu and the other Vongola comrades who were out fighting Byakuran and told them of what had happened. Within the next few minutes, Luce was taking them through another portal to Natsu and co's location.

The moment Tsuna and Yuni stepped out of the portal, holding each others hands for dear life after the terrifying experience they went through, they saw Natsu. A deeply frowning Natsu, with ice forming around him and the air growing cold as his anger, and the control on his flames, went haywire. The blonde haired twin glared at Yuni, whom quickly let go of Tsuna and gave him a light shove forward towards Natsu. Natsu had his arms crossed over his chest. Behind him stood Hayato and Hibari.

"Dame-Tsuna." said Natsu, a simple, final word.

Tsuna ducked his head, standing a few feet away, ashamed. "I-I'm sorry, guys. I-I didn't-,"

"Shut up." Natsu walked forward and cuffed Tsuna on the head. It was light, and something that made Tsuna freeze in fear, but Natsu ignored that motion completely. Reborn tensed, seeing this, but didn't interfere. "Don't disappear again, idiot. I thought I already told you: you're mine. That means no going off with Reborn and getting yourself killed, or getting in trouble with the Vindice."

"Y-yes Natsu."

"Good." Natsu said, and then turned around and walked off to Hayato's side. Hibari then came forward, with a small Hibird sitting on his head, but Natsu interrupted him with a few last words of, "If he goes out of my sight, I'm not hesitating in burning down your precious school Hibari. Make sure he doesn't leave. I don't trust Reborn with him."

Though Natsu couldn't see it, Hibari smirked. He reached up and the Hibird jumped down onto an outstretched finger. He then bent down and let the bird jump onto Tsuna's fluffy hair. The yellow bird settled down after a few good pats with its talons and Tsuna laughed a bit. He reached up with one hand to pet the bird, and didn't say anything when Hibari retreated back to the edge of the group, skillfully avoiding Chrome and Mukuro, who looked rather interested in the display he just showed.

Coming up from behind, Luce put a hand on his shoulder. Tsuna turned his head, and then smiled at her. "Thank you," he said, sincerely meaning it. "you helped me. I-I'm really grateful, Luce."

"Mhmm." She made a noncommittal sound, and then backed away.

Reborn watched her closely. He gave a sharp nod, and in the next moment, she was gone, as if she had never been there the first place. Tsuna shot him a worried look, but Reborn pointedly ignored it. It was obvious the hitman wasn't happy with Tsuna at the moment, considering the fact that it was obvious what the teenager had been trying to do given the Sky Arcobaleno being there and an interested Bermuda watching.

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

Natsu had defeated Byakuran easily.

Of course, it had only been through Tsuna's words of, "Either you defeat him or I'm going off with Reborn again." That convinced him to be serious about the whole ordeal. The guardians were used to this behavior, and just passed it off, but the Varia and La didn't look so pleased with it.

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

Daemon took one look at Reborn and quickly fled for his life. After Enma met the two Vongola Decimo's, he quickly became enemies with Natsu, and best friends with Tsuna. In the end, Natsu had ended up pissing Enma off (with the whole sociopath attitude thing) which led to Enma stealing the Sin despite there being no reason to other than the fact that both wanted to fight over who was better for Tsuna.

Tsuna had just watched, standing with the Ninth and his guardians and the Shimon guardians as Natsu and Enma rolled on the ground, enraged at each other, and basically just fistfighting. Enma had an upgraded ring, and had completely trashed the place, but didn't seem to be using it at all.

Rolling around on the ground and yelling obscenities at each other, they had ended up accidently smashing Natsu's half of the Sky ring. Since one half ended up smashed, Tsuna's ring that he wore on his hand also cracked, and faded away into bits a pieces.

The Ninth was not happy.

Neither was Talbot, who yelled at them for hours because apparently if one ring broke, then they all broke. Tsuna nor Natsu didn't understand, and Reborn laughed at them from behind a wall without hiding his intentions. Enma had apologized in that very moment – up until the part where Chrome had tripped over a piece of rubble, and ended up creating an entire domino effect, which knocked down all the tenth generation guardians.

Which also broke the rest of the rings.

Enma had just stared wide-eyed.

Natsu snickered, and punched the red-head in the face while he had the chance.

O0O0OxX..XxO0O0O

The Representative Battles were annoying.

In the first part of things, Bermuda had showed up with his little posse – but then before he could do anything, Luce and Reborn all came up and argued that since the Vindice weren't the current Arcobaleno, they weren't eligible to become candidates, even if they stole a team's watches. After all, the only reason there was the Representative Battles was the pick the winning team's people as the next Arcobaleno. Reborn and Luce reasoned that since dead people who had already been Arcobaleno couldn't become Arcobaleno again, their participation was invalid.

Checkerface had ruled it true, and as such, kicked them out. Then for an extra measure he had admitted to the fact that if there was another way to stop the Arcobaleno system, he'd take it, but that it was impossible to do so. Thus, the sacrifices would continue. It was to this that Tsuna came up and asked what would happen if they just sealed the pacifiers in ice, so that they'd always have the current amount of their users flames in them, frozen in time and sealed, but wouldn't require any more. The current Arcobaleno would then be uncursed, and the pacifiers wouldn't need any sacrifices.

It worked, because the theory Tsuna had was that the flames of all the previous and current Arcobaleno was stored in the pacifier: it was why Yuni was created to look just like Luce, and how she had been revived, and why they were cursed to be babies because it stole their flame, and why the Sky Arcobaleno could revive them because their flames still resided in the pacifiers. If they just took the pacifiers away and sealed them, then the flames would still stay, and all would be good.

Checkerface and Talbot both agreed to it.

Natsu had just sneered and asked why they hadn't thought of that earlier, to which Reborn replied that the ice needed to seal the pacifiers would need to be very powerful, and only that Giotto, or someone who could use his technique, could seal them; which happened to be Natsu. The Ninth's ZPB would never work, as it was much weaker, whereas Natsu's would be able to seal them appropriately, just as his future self had sealed Yuni in the future.

They'd all watched a few days later as the pacifiers were sealed in ice and the Arcobaleno were freed. Checkerface had then retreated back to whatever hole he'd come from, and Luce had told them all that she'd protect the pacifiers along with the other Vindice so that no one from the Vongola in the future generations would be able to seal them again.

The Vindice, and Bermuda, had agreed to this, saying that keeping the pacifiers away from Checkerface and ending the Arcobaleno system was enough. Luce had only given Tsuna, Yuni and Reborn one last smile before disappearing through a portal of dark flames.

Yuni wished her grandmother goodbye. Tsuna just waved. Reborn didn't do anything other than nod. Then Yuni had gone back to celebrate with her famiglia, Tsuna and Natsu retreated back to the chaos house with all their allies, and everything went good.

-until Enma and Natsu lost their shit again and attempted to kill one another over Tsuna's "purity" and "innocence".

Tsuna then jumped in the middle of it, and they'd all ended up encased in a big crystal of ice, courtesy of Natsu. The only problem was that Tsuna and Natsu both wore the half rings, and since the Vongola Sky Ring wasn't fully together, its full power wasn't complete. Sure, it had been fixed, and the ring looked different with the big colorful stones on it, but due to Reborn's asking of Giotto, the spirit had allowed the ring to be split again.

So thus, two rings that formed a whole. Only they were sealed in the ice that only it and the other element's rings could break. Which meant Enma, Tsuna and Natsu were all stuck there for eternity. The Ninth hadn't been happy: with no heir, the Vongola wouldn't continue. Reborn himself had tried breaking through the ice, but couldn't. He'd turned depressed for a while before going on a mission to explore to see if there was any other way to free his beloved apprentice.

He had an eternity after all, being a vampire. As did Yuni, who soon joined him. The guardians, not wanting to be left behind, had begged to become immortals. It only took a short two years of pestering Yuni and Reborn before the two finally gave in and let the Vongola-who-weren't-Vongola-guardians anymore join their eternity search to find a way to unfreeze the ice.

Time went and passed.

The Vongola fell with the last of its generation dying out.

And everyone still wasn't happy with Natsu's idiotic freezing himself in ice. It was only until they managed to figure out, after a hundred years, that the Bovino made a bazooka that could travel further back in time rather than the future that it helped. So, they went to the first generations time, and past-Reborn from then met future-Reborn.

Reborn also got to see mini-kid-Luce again, and his dear Sephira, who only laughed at his sudden arrival and had said that it was only meant to happen, and that she had seen it all.

In the end, they'd stolen Giotto's ring (which accidently caused the man's death, sadly, which in turn caused all the future events to happen of Sephira dying and Reborn getting chased by the Vindice and almost killed after Giotto's death) and taken it back to the future, where the guardians had unfrozen Natsu, Enma and Tsuna with the past Vongola Sky ring.

The first thing, after a hundred years of being sealed up in his own ice, that Natsu said was, "You assholes took too long."

And thus they lived a very interesting happy-ever-after.

…With Reborn laughing his ass off at all of them as the guardians scrambled about to try to explain and make excuses on why they took so long, and how they were now all immortal vampires. Tsuna hadn't been happy, and had asked to be turned himself, which ended up in Enma proclaiming that if the pure Tsuna was to be turned into a vampire, that he should as well so that he could protect the dear brunet from the horrors (AKA Natsu) of the world. Natsu had then jumped in and ordered Reborn to turn him as well, since it wasn't fair that Enma and Tsuna got to leave him behind, and that he should at least get a chance to beat his rival in defense of who was better at protecting Tsuna.

Sadly, it had been the one mistake of Tsuna tripping down the stairs with Giotto's ring that ended up with the poor thing splitting perfectly in half – and creating what they knew to be the current Vongola rings. The not-rock-crystal one.

Reborn had laughed. Luce, who had shown up, shook her head with a fond smile on her face.

"Well now we know how the rings got split. Now, anyone up for a trip to the past? We've got to return the ring to Secondo after all."

Natsu glared. "Fuck off."

Tsuna grinned, and wondered if this was what family truly was meant to be.


	20. A Sealed Ring to Rule Them All

**Red**

**Chapter Nineteen**

Natsu didn't know what to think of Byakuran. After he had sent Zio after Ghost, to which the box animal had practically eaten the weird flame-sucking monster, the marshmallow freak had appeared. Natsu was already tired from attempting to convince Zio that yes, if he could use the animal's flames, then that meant the animal had to have been getting its own flames from somewhere that wasn't his own body, which meant the box animal was absorbing other's flames, just very slowly and in small quantities. That also meant that if the animal could try, the lynx could probably suck up all of Ghost's flames.

This also meant Byakuran wasn't as happy as he could have been, since the flames didn't go back to him, since Zio had destroyed them by eating them. After Zio yawned, the animal hopped up onto Natsu's head and settled down for a nap, completely ignoring the danger in front of it or the fact that it was likely to slip off at the first turn Natsu made.

After arriving, not at all dismayed by Natsu's bored face, Byakuran started to talk. He talked about Ghost, about how he killed Natsuhiko of the future, about his "toy", Yuni, about the Trinisette, and then, after all of the long speech they had to listen to, then spoke about Tsuna and Reborn; insulting them for not being there, saying that they had abandoned the Vongola and Natsu.

Bythis point, Natsu was ticked off. Nobody talked about Tsuna like that, and nobody disgraced his famiglia by telling lies. Reborn, he feared and respected for his strength, which was why he allowed the hitman's annoying talk of Tsuna. However, Byakuran was not Reborn.

Cutting off Byakuran's talk, Natsu drawled out, "You're annoying. Shut up and fight me already. I hate boring speeches."

So they fought.

Byakuran did his stupid White Applause trick, which made Natsu take a step back and actually consider what to do. He wasn't left much time, because the next thing he knew Byakuran was in front of him. The man wasn't able to land a hit. Natsu's control of ice sent spikes flying up from around him, and Byakuran had to quickly backstep to get away. When the purple hand of doom came to suffocate him, Natsu used his ZPB technique to freeze the thing from two feet away from him with his Zero gun.

Yuni, with her Sky Pacifier, only smiled at him, said a mysterious last two words of, "Forgive me." And disappeared in a flash of orange sky flames. Gamma yelled out, "Princess!" from outside the barrier, and fell to his knees, defeated. Natsu stepped forward towards the white cloak and gazed at the pacifiers with a sullen look on his face.

She had reminded him of Kyoko.

"You killed Yuni. She died because of you, Byakuran." Natsu's voice was dead. There was nothing but flatness in it. He hadn't turned to face Byakuran, and only stared down at the pacifiers; at the orange pacifier of the Sky Arcobaleno.

"You...how dare you kill my toy? My power to greatness – the Trinisette!" the words were nothing to Natsu. No matter how angry Byakuran was, he didn't turn his head. The words were symmetrical to how Natsu had treated Tsuna, back in the past. Natsu recognized that, as well as he recognized the short breaths he took as the images of Kyoko's blood-stained body with poles jabbing into it entering his mind.

Kyoko, dear Kyoko, falling. He hadn't been the one to let go. Kyoko had. The foolish girl had left Natsu all alone to rot, and Natsu both loved and hated her for it. She knew what he'd become.

Now there was Yuni, one last smile, and then gone. Gone in a blink of an eye, orange flames and only a few pacifiers left to signify she had ever existed. Her last words stung. Natsu knew – he _knew_ \- that whatever she was apologizing for wasn't for her death. No, it was something far worse, Natsu thought. His Hyper Intuition sensed it.

The Vongola Decimo picked up the box weapon animal, his lynx Zio, and patted her on the head in an oddly nice, gentle way. A way no-one would picture a monster to do. Zio nipped his hand in reply, so Natsu nodded. He held up his Zero gun, and aimed it at the menace that had destroyed his hometown and prevented him from finding what was his.

"_Arrivederci_." said Natsu.

A roaring whirlwind of ice shot towards Byakuran, skewering him as it burned into nothingness but dark, cold flames. Natsu hadn't bothered to fully focus on turning his flames to ice, so what was really ice was only cold flames as dark as the lasting blue sunset on a summer night. The bones weren't left when the cold flames cleared out.

The newly resurrected Arcoblaeno looked appalled – the pacifiers had shifted in the time it took Natsu to gather up the flame in the gun. Colonello gave Natsu a thumbs-up and Natsu blinked. Lal rushed forward and grabbed Colonello up off the ground and hugged him tightly.

"H-hey, kora!" gasped Colonello. "No need to go getting my shirt wet, Lal!"

"Idiot!" yelled Lal, squeezing tighter. "Don't ever die again."

"Natsu," a voice called. The blonde faced the owner of the voice to find Dino standing with Basil by his side. The two had bruises littering their bodies, but looked fine besides that. "We'll find Tsuna and Reborn."

"We won't leave without them." assured Basil. "Reborn won't come back without him; and Reborn always comes back."

Natsu scowled.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

TYL Tsunayoshi and his partner in crime, TYL Reborn, aka Renato, were the first to see it. Tsuna, clothes ripped and looking half-dead, fell through a black-flame-looking portal and landed with a thump on the ground. He winced as he landed, and looked up to see his famiglia looking at him in worry, and for the wise Tsunayoshi and Renato; amazement and a small bit of wariness. Then came Reborn, whose suit was ripped open to reveal a bloody undershirt. He had bloody wrists and a bad cut on his forehead that would have felled a lesser man. He as, uncharacteristically, trembling as he stood, since his legs were unable to hold his weight with all the supposed cuts and gashes that were inflicted upon them.

Tsuna helped Reborn up, a worried expression painted across his face. "Your knees are cut, you shouldn't be standing! You're going to hurt yourself, Reborn."

Reborn, being Reborn, only shoved him away and walked forward, his eyes on his future self. Once Reborn was close enough, he collapsed and fell forward into Tsunayoshi and Renato. The guardians were unprepared for such development, and showed varies degrees of 'what the fuck'. Renato and Tsunayoshi were further assured of their suspicions; but only because they knew Reborn couldn't pass out unless he had lost more than half the blood in his body, and he looked deathly close to doing so. The Arcobaleno looked too stunned for words, knowing that Reborn did not under any circumstances, leave himself completely defenseless in front of others.

"Tsuna…"

Tsunayoshi bent down so he could hear better. His hands were clenched into fists at his sides, and his eyes were on his past self, eyes like glass. If one were attuned enough to Tsunayoshi's attitudes, they would have been able to see the dislike for the situation in his body language. "Yuni gave her pacifier to Tsuna so he could become the Sky Arcobaleno." said Reborn. "He sacrificed himself for me. Tsuna isn't human, and he doesn't' have Sky Flames. He's faking it."

"Well shit." Renato said. "We're screwed, aren't we? Although this is a parallel world now because of how you've changed your past. If he's been brainwashed by Bermuda..."

Tsunayoshi shook his head. "You'll have no chance."

"Fucking hell," Renato cursed again, looking over at Tsuna. The words had more meaning now. "_I'm _screwed."

"Yeah," said Tsunayoshi, swallowing numbly. His voice shook. "Natsu can't beat that. No-one can."

Reborn smirked a little. "It wasn't Bermuda who did this to me. It was Tsuna. He's fast." He said. "Usually I can outrun their short warps but Tsuna seems to have an infinite number of them. I barely avoided getting my leg chopped off."

Renato only cursed again. Things were not going to plan.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Back to the present, or what Natsu would name the present, the group was settling down peacefully. Reborn had gone back to his usual bullying routine. Bianchi had set up a schedule with Basil and Dino about who would do the house chores (now that Nana was gone). I-Pin had managed to drag Lambo with her to a few of her lessons with Fon, and the Storm Arcobaleno was quietly amused by it, though he didn't say more than a short few words to I-Pin about it. He had taken to hanging around the house more often. Whether it was because he had no intention of going back to the Triads, or because Reborn's threat of 'stay' convinced him, Natsu had no idea.

Hayato had taken to just living in the house. Reborn had allowed it. Bianchi had been pleased to hear the news. Takeshi had been jealous, if that could be the word one would use to describe it, and hadn't let Hayato off of the jokes for days after they'd come back about his recent upgrade to the Chaos house servant.

Kyouya held no interest in the house, and had fled back to wherever it was he went when he was in Namimori. Natsu had a slight suspicion, along with Chrome and Mukuro's input, that Kyouya took a few naps during the day at Namimori shrine, and was a place the skylark regularly visited. Reborn had offered for Chrome to stay, but the girl had refused. She was content to stay with Mukuro and his two subordinates, Ken and Chikusa, whom had taken a liking to the girl.

In the end, Natsu had ended up feeling suspicious of Tsuna after a while. His Hyper Intuition, while not as sharp as Tsuna's, was still ever-present. It hardly had ever warned him of anything, so for it to go off while he was doing normal things, and stay as a warning, was alarming to Natsu. That being said, Natsu had no idea what his sixth sense was telling him, and had been forced to let it go. Tsuna and Reborn had been acting weird – Reborn should have never had offered for any of the guardians to stay at their house; it was unreal – but Natsu couldn't pick up anything other than that. It was obvious that something big had happened while the two had been gone, but neither would speak of it, and Reborn had made clear that if Natsu tried to threaten Tsuna to tell him he'd skewer him on the end of a stick and shove him in a closet.

Natsu wasn't so inclined to go threatening his twin for answers after that.

"Natsu," said Tsuna. "if you're going to stand there all day doing nothing then you might as well help me clean the dishes and table."

"Shut up, Tsuna." Natsu grumbled, not taking the effort to speak loudly. He had barely stopped himself from saying dame-Tsuna; he knew Reborn would shoot him if he did. "You've always done the kitchen duty. Why the hell are you telling me to do it? I'd just break a plate and then Reborn would yell at me for it and shove me out of the house."

Tsuna frowned, about to bite back with a sharp, nasty retort, but Reborn's hand landed on Natsu's shoulder before he could. "Unless you want to be shot with a dying will bullet I suggest you go running around the block with Ryohei." Reborn told Natsu. "Now go. I have a few things to discuss with you twin today."

"Are you trying to make the Vongola Decimo deaf?" said Natsu with a sarcastic drawl to his voice. He was clearly talking about how many bullets he'd encountered that had sent his ears ringing.

Reborn only pointed his gun at Natsu and the blonde was running soon enough. Once he was a fair way down the road the mentor turned to his apprentice, a deathly tension filling the room. Reborn looked at Tsuna for a moment, eyes narrowing, and then lowered his gun from where he had been pointing it at Natsu, slowly.

"Your acting skills are shit." The hitman told the undead Vindice. "First off, you talk too much. Second off, you don't talk to Natsu at all. Third off, don't talk back. If you want to act like dame-Tsuna, then you have to be wimpy, you shitty possessive dying will flame. You can't act or do whatever you want without blowing your cover."

"That was the old, foolish me. Now –_now- _Reborn, I'm not afraid to act like I've always wanted. There's nothing holding me back, now, except you of course. One thought can change a nation, they say." purred Tsuna. A light grin was on his face, clearly thinking the situation funny, as if Reborn could actually order him around. "Nothing can kill me. So Natsu can do whatever he wants, and I'll do whatever I want, including killing you and Checkerface and that twin of mine. If not for you, I'd have been dead. I wanted to die, to forget, to have peace, but then you just had to show up with your sarcastic remarks telling me I could move and rescuing me. While part of me might have been grateful, I suppose I now hate you for it. I wouldn't have had to keep on pushing myself to live...I-," Tsuna broke off, a flicker of surprise and then pain shadowing his face. He brought one hand up, towards his head, and then halfway he paused, his eyes darting up to look at Reborn. Reborn tilted his head a bit, but heard nothing. Not breathing, not anything. He had a feeling he'd just seen something that Tsuna hadn't wanted him to see, yet he had no idea what for. Tsuna started again, "This is your fault." There was a harsh conviction in his voice. "_But_ I can't kill you, not until the Representative Battles start. So you're lucky, Reborn. Very lucky."

Reborn only kept his face still, showing none of his thoughts or emotions with years of practice. He knew what this was, a corrupted Night Flame influencing a Sky, insanity, and a Dying Will; the darkest kind of will, where it drew out the darkest most deepest secret desires of a person and ripped them out to the front of the mind so they consumed them. He couldn't blame Tsuna. He had no idea what he'd been walking into. Luce's words couldn't measure against what it felt like for a person to have their darkest, deepest, most secret desires put front; sometimes even the ones they themselves had no idea about.

No matter how much he wanted to believe, none had escaped the flame of Night. Reborn knew Luce hadn't. He had been surprised to see her sane, in the very least, but he knew she only hide behind it. It was her defense mechanism to take up a nice smile when she felt down and show it off to the world instead of her secrets. She acted the same as she did when she was alive, and although Reborn was certain, he predicted that it was likely she felt the same as Tsuna.

"Do you really want to kill me that badly, Tsunayoshi?" asked Reborn.

The world could have gone still, and he wouldn't have cared. The heavy heartbeat that Reborn heard was surely only an imitation of the past, a small comfort to the past. Reborn knew he'd never have a heartbeat again. Sephira had saved him that small price. It was too bad Reborn hadn't a mind for human's nor Luce and her ancestor's talkings of fate to have faith in the future.

"You ruined my life." Tsuna didn't specify on what grounds Reborn had 'ruined' his life. It could have been anything Reborn had done. "If you never existed, I could live the life I've always wanted."

Reborn bit his tongue at that. _The life of death_, he though scathingly, _or the life of countless beatings with a horrible fate to await you?_

"I should have died that night, but I didn't because you _saved _me." Tsuna hissed out the word, as if it was a curse. Truly for the most suicidal parts of Tsuna, it probably was. This Tsuna, Reborn guessed, probably had the intentions to die in that alley in a coward's way out and never face the pain of his dear twin again. "Do you think I wanted to live forever, Reborn? No, but I did this all for you. _Everything _was for you. Not because you saved me, or because I found a father in you, or even because you brought excitement into my life, nay, it was because I had nothing else to live for. I don't regret that, but I'll feel satisfied if I kill you so there'll at least be some purpose to what I did. Luce was right, didn't your know?"

Reborn tried not to let his lips twist sideways. He pressed his fingers into his palm lightly, hoping not for what was going to be another one of Luce's fate talks coming ahead. "Luce?" he questioned, arching an eyebrow. "What could she ever tell you, oh powerful tuna?"

Tsuna looked ready to claw Reborn's eyes out, but shrugged and wiped that look off his face and put on a one of knowing. "It changes. It's not just your flame – you disconnect from you elements. Before, I wouldn't even think of hurting one of them, even Mukuro, though I could make threats. Now I can't sense them. It's like they're dead. I could kill one of them and my flame would still be normal. My mind would shatter at the stress, unlike I would have if that happened previously. The same goes for you. I can think yet I can't."

Tsuna paused, looking up and raising his head to see Reborn's expression, underneath the fedora Reborn so lovingly wore. It was a small weakness, but one Tsuna couldn't hide. His previous self cared far too much. "Sometimes its Reborn, other times its Reborn, Papa, Sun Arcobaleno, savior, vampire, the undead, hitman; all at once. It's insanity inside itself. I can't disobey Bermuda's orders; I must kill myself if our plans are disrupted, I must kill Checkerface, which will also result in my death. I have no way to win. I can't think – I just do impulsively like some sort of rabid dog. Like Natsu."

A small second passed, and then Reborn spoke too soon, "Do you hate me?"

"No," Tsuna laughed. "I hate myself for ever getting involved with you. You're Reborn. I'm Tsuna. Don't get those two mixed up. I'm insane. You won't find me here once the fighting starts."

"Your words don't make sense." said Reborn.

"I'll stop you if you try to break Bermuda's boss watch." Tsuna told Reborn, continuing as if Reborn hadn't said anything. "You won't kill me, either. You didn't do it in the past and you won't do it now. That's why you haven't told anyone, I know. You are afraid."

"I haven't told anyone because I don't know if Bermuda will attack before the Battle. The Vongola aren't prepared. So I won't risk it. The old 'foolish' Tsuna wouldn't if our roles were switched, so I won't either."

"You," sneered Tsuna. "have no idea what I would do! Yo'ure too detached from humans to see it! You fell the day Giotto died! I can see it! Bermuda can see it! Even Luce! Hell, if Natsu wasn't so wary of you, he'd admit it too. You've given up! If Bermuda was about to turn you into a Vindice you would have killed yourself because we all know that if it was between yourself and Giotto's beloved Vongola you would choose your dead blood servant's mafia famiglia over yourself! Me! I can't-couldn't let that happen, so I took your place, but you don't even care about me, do you? Because you've given up, because you know you're going to die anyways!"

Reborn let out a snarl, but didn't lunge forward to rip Tsuna's neck out. Instead he gave a small warning. "Act scared." He said. "You may be a mere confident, daring, mouthy Tsuna, but bullets sure as hell hurt the same as if you were a human. I'd advise you to run, _dame-Tsuna."_

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Perhaps if thing shad gone differently, Tsuna could have escaped with Reborn, but it wasn't. Tsuna wasn't Tsuna anymore, and Reborn hadn't a clue on how to get out of this mess and not end up killing the entire Vongola in the process. Hell, no one stood a chance against Bermuda, Luce or Tsuna but him. He was the only one who could move as fast as Bermuda's warp could, but against Bermuda and two other vampires who he wasn't sure he could fight, he was doomed. Luce was his true, first sky, and Tsuna like an adoptive, comforting, 'I'll fix your open wounds' sky. Alone, Reborn knew he could probably take out Tsuna, or Luce, if he didn't screw up since he could easily read their body language. Bermuda, however, was different. That man had as much experience as he did, which meant it would just last until one of them got too tired and slipped up.

Reborn full-well knew Natsu, and Natsu knew him. If it got bad, he'd have Natsu shoot them with his Zero Gun so at least he'd take Bermuda down with him. Natsu, unlike Tsuna, wouldn't hesitate.

There was also the ex-convict to consider. Mukuro and his twin (by all right but blood) had illusions, and if both of them tried he was sure they could fool Bermuda for a short amount of time. Their abilities were nothing to joke about. Reborn also had a theory about Mukuro's silver pistol and possession abilities. If Mukuro could possess Tsuna, it would help them considerably.

It was just a theory, and only a theory.

In all the centuries he'd been alive, no one had come close to downing Bermuda and the Vindice. He was the only one who could take down Jager, but Bermuda was tricky, especially when he got pissed off. Sephira, bless her soul, one of the original earthlings, as shithead Checkerface called themselves, had a disagreement with Bermuda, and even with his new vampire eyesight at the time, Reborn hadn't seen Bermuda until he was standing above her corpse. She hadn't stood a chance against the speed of sound. Or light. Reborn hadn't a clue on just how fast Bermuda had moved that day, and he'd never seen the undead use it again.

Reborn laid back in the chair he had gracelessly sprawled himself across, and took a sip of the coffee he had made. It tasted like dry chalk shoved in with a handful of ice shards, and was a purely disgusting liquid without any blood saturating it.

Natsu chose that moment to appear in the living room. He took one look at the position that no actual legendary hitman should have been sitting in lest their reputation be ruined, and asked in the most Nana-oblivious way, "Do you know where Enma went?"

_Enma? _Reborn couldn't help but snort, not willing to deal with another person invested in Natsu's company. He thought back to what had happened in the past twenty four hours, and narrowed his eyes as he took another drink at the coffee in his hand. He looked up at Natsu through half-lidded eyes. He distinctly remembered a red-haired idiot attempting to jump of the roof and then tripping and falling the rest of the way down before landing on the ground in front of the back door that Reborn had been staring at, at the time of four in the morning. He had changed into his baby form, to tired to maintain his adult form at the moment.

"You've been sitting on the couch all night and you've been awake, glaring at the front door since yesterday, and you _didn't _see the Shimon kid with the red hair?" accused Natsu, sounding more concerned with Reborn's health than normal. Obviously Reborn found himself in the position 'oh god I've done something wrong' because in no way should he recognize Natsu as being concerned for anyone but himself.

Reborn answered quickly now, "He jumped out your window dame-Natsu-," Rebron cut himself off. Natsu, for once, looked more concerned. Reborn now knew what was horribly wrong. Little dark zombie, vampire Tsuna was plaguing his thoughts so badly he couldn't think. "Well shit." He said.

Natsu agreed, nodding. "You're really fucked up."

"I am." Reborn was nodding back.

Natsu looked torn between wanting to cry (he'd seen the expression on Tsuna's face enough to know Natsu was about to) and wanting to punch a wall in pure panic.

"What the hell happened to you? And where did Tsuna go? Oh god," Natsu feigned his mother's look of 'Iemitsu's calling the phone!' and gasped. "you two didn't get into a fight did you? Wow, I'll have to document this. You're either so drunk off caffeine you can't think straight, or I'm dreaming, and I'm willing to bet it's the first one." Natsu stepped away from baby Reborn and heaved his backpack over his shoulders. "I'm going to school. Since you've been there for about two days, I'm going to point out that the coffee you're drinking is two days cold and there's no way in hell I'd be able to drink that, so if you are, I'm betting you're really out of it. Which means its time for me to not come back for diner. _Goodbye _evil-devil Spartan tutor, I hope to never see you again. If Enma comes back, tell him that he left his study notes on my table."

Natsu was out the door before Reborn could process what the blonde had said, and when he did, Reborn had the urge to kill the Vongola heir. Sighing to himself, Reborn got up, leaving the coffee cup on the table, and went outside the house – his house, he reminded himself. Nana Akitoshi had left him the boys and the house and just about everything but herself as a royal 'fuck you' to the world – and decided to find the brat that had been missing for the past two days after their argument, as Natsu put it.

First he had to find Tsuna, then he had to find out who the hell this Enma was and what he was doing in Namimori, since the Shimon were supposed to be on their island, and then figure out how to not die, not have Tsuna kill him, not get the Arcobaleno killed, and not reveal his status as a vampire all before the month was over and Checkerface showed up. It was harder to actually do something than the plan it, Reborn thought. Much harder.

Five minutes later, Reborn found Tsuna and the Cozart replica, Enma, facing off against one another in a game of Othello at the construction site. Smirking, Reborn fell through the roof and purposely landed on their game board, standing perfectly with a disapproving mentor-frown at their work.

Enma gaped. Tsuna only looked with dull eyes at the scene before him, disappointed at the loss of the game to Reborn's black shoes.

"What do you think you're doing, dame-Tsuna?" demanded Reborn. "I thought I told you to act scared. That's my threat for get to fucking school and not mess around with Cozart's descentant!"

Enma shrunk away from the hitman, sliding back off his chair and on the ground. "Y-you're Reborn!"

The sense of both respect and fear in Enma's voice stopped Reborn's assault on his apprentice. The hitman turned to look at the red haired Shimon, raising an eyebrow.

"W-we have pictures – I mean – Primo was telling the truth?" Enma got his bearings rather quickly, and stood up, looking with wide eyes at the apparent legend that was Reborn. "You really are Reborn, right? Giotto's bodyguard? A-a vampire?"

Reborn would have been surprised, if he were anyone else, but he wasn't just anyone. He was _Reborn._

"So you're the Shimon Decimo, Enma? Scrawny and wek. Cozart would be ashamed to see his famiglia now. I thought I burned that stupid diary of his. And all his paintings. That damned Cozart-," Reborn wanted to grab the dead man and smack him with an old granny's walking stick for his stupidity. "If you tell anyone that I'm immortal, knew Giotto and Cozart personally, or that I'm a vampire, I'll drink all your blood and kill you, got it?"

Enma nodded quickly. The boy knew very well of what exactly Reborn could do, and wisely feared it.

"Good. Now did Tsunayoshi here threaten to injure or kill you?" Reborn said, completely ignoring Tsuna's childish whine as he asked so. "I'm sure you've figured it out with that sealed ring of yours. It reacts to night flame, if I remember correctly, since it was Bermuda who sealed the Shimon rings."

Tsuna flung himself forward and encircled his arms around Reborn's legs, a high-pitched hum coming from his lips and red eyes showing through orange. "Aww, Reborn, ruining my fun. You're lucky he already knew, or I'd have to kill myself because of it. Don't forget, hitman~!"

Reborn scowled. Tsuna was correct in his little insanity-speech earlier. Bipolar, due to the changing thoughts that frequented Tsuna's mind, Reborn guessed. Enma glared at the brunet, his suspicions confirmed.

"A Vindice and a vampire," Enma asked Reborn. Enma picked up one of the black Othello game pieces and flicked it up in the air as one would do when flipping a coin, and caught it on the back of his left hand. He was frowning lightly, looking down at the piece. "the Vongola isn't what it used to be, is it?"

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	21. Planning Tsuna's Demise

**Red**

**Chapter Twenty**

Natsu knew there was something wrong with Tsuna. He'd call it the instinct of the twin, but Natsu wasn't one to use such petty excuses. The first wrong thing was that he had both halves of the Vongola sky ring. Tsuna had given his half to Natsu before running off. Second was that Reborn wasn't the scary Reborn he formerly knew. Reborn was in his adult form most of all the time now, and only turned into his baby form when the hitman decided to sleep, which was only once in a lifetime. As far as Natsu knew, Reborn never stayed in his adult form unless Tsuna was in danger. Third was that Tsuna talked more often, and didn't flinch away from Natsu when Natsu entered the room. The brunet did shy away when Natsu got close, but unlike before, it seemed as if Tsuna didn't mind Natsu being in the same room as him. It interested Natsu. For Tsuna to become whole – it was fun for Natsu; both to experiment with this newfound courage in Tsuna, and the push Tsuna to his limits to see just exactly what made the transformation happen.

Natsu was going to find out what this new Tsuna was, even if he would get shot for it. Screw Reborn and his bullets, Natsu was going to remind Tsuna just why he didn't talk back to him. Natsu enjoyed teasing this new Tsuna, but he didn't enjoy when Tsuna fought back in the most snide ways possible, spitting insults and curses when the brunet thought Natsu was too far away to hear.

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Reborn was aware that the only thing keeping Tsuna from having a nails-on-the-blackboard voice was Mukuro's illusions and the pencil he was connected to. After ordering a grinning Tsuna and wary Enma to get to school Reborn headed off towards his next destination: Kokuyo Land. It was likely Mukuro knew exactly what was going on. It was harder to use illusions on a dead body after all, and Mukuro could sense the Vindice a mile away since the boy had been to hell so many times. He had to know Tsuna was a Vindice from his illusion he kept maintaining, just as Enma suspected from the way the seal on his Earth ring reacted, since it was the Vindice that helped seal the Shimon rings. With Tsuna so close to it, it was likely the ring probably naturally gravitated towards him.

The moment Reborn stepped into the dark room, Mukuro appeared in a rather comical way, chuckling. Reborn stood his ground, pressing a hand to the tip of his hat, letting Leon lick his finger reassuringly. The chameleon seemed to purr at the new attention Reborn gave him. Reborn smiled a tiny smile at no one in particular, and watched the illusionist in front of him who peered at him curiously, nose turned high.

"So the Sun Arcobaleno made a mistake and wants help?" said Mukuro. "My my, you've asked so many favors lately I'm tempted to refuse you."

Reborn eyes narrowed. "He's already a Vindice. If I tell anyone who doesn't already know, he dies, but that doesn't mean you can't."

Mukuro's smirk and smug look left his face completely. His red eye seemed to glow eerily in the darkness of the empty room. The trident in Mukuro's right hand made a long shadow, cutting through the room. The cracks on the wall and the way the ripped up pale curtains gleamed in the sunlight would have made anyone but Reborn himself a bit creeped out. They both knew it was a dangerous proposition for Reborn to make, that would get them both killed if anyone found out.

"I will not risk the wrath of the Vindice." said Mukuro, dipping his head down to the Sun Arcobaleno. Mukuro was frowning. "Your aims, goalds, past, everything is unknown to me. Kufufufu, when Tsunayoshi Sawada returned, I know he was one of them, but I have no idea how, or what secret you two are hiding. It would be unwise for me to walk into a situation I have no idea about. Especially if it concerns them. It will come at a price. Information always does, Arcobaleno, if you want me to do what you're asking."

Reborn nodded. "You'll regret it Rokudo Mukuro." The hitman told the illusionist sincerely. "the Vindice killed Tsuna and turned him against me for this information." He paused, looking with hard onyx eyes at the Mist guardian. "Are you willing to risk that?"

Mukuro laughed, as if it were some elaborate plan that Reborn had no clue about that he was revealing. One that mimicked Byakuran's laugh perfectly.

"Of course! Dirt on the world's number one hitman and the Sun Arcobaleno sitting in front of me on a silver platter? Kufufufufufu, I would never pass that up."

Reborn stepped forward, placing one hand on Mukuro's trident, and pushed it away. He had no intention of getting stabbed anytime soon, or possessed. Then, Reborn gave a predatory smirk, getting far too close for comfort, and let his red eyes show as he locked eyes with the illusionist.

"You asked for it, Rokudo."

Through the sunlight showing through the broken glass windows and shattered curtains, two sharp fangs were clearly seen by Mukuro's eyes only, but by then, it was too late.

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Enma was fairly certain that the idea of going against the Vongola wasn't good, but going against an immortal vampire and an undead Vindice who was also one, was suicide. That's why when he got home, he fell to the couch in a planking sort of way and laid there in shock and despair over the fact that shit bigger than them was happening and now that he had found out Sawada Tsunayoshi was really a twisted, insane Vindice disguised as a normal high school student, he was probably going to get caught up in it.

Damn Shimon rings, they almost got him killed for glowing and revealing Tsuna had the flame of Night. He was sure that he was losing that game of Othello, and would've died had Reborn not appeared then. That game they had played was life or death, and Enma had quickly found out that Tsuna was quite good at winning games.

Adel walked through the front door with her possessed boyfriend, only to stop and stare at her boss, wondering if he had finally lost it. She put on a worried face, her eyebrows pinching together, and quickly made her way to Enma's side.

"Enma?" asked Adel.

Enma groaned into the pillow before lifting his head up. He looked at them, his guardians, his most trusted, and sighed. "We can't do it." He said. "I'm okay with going against the Vongola, but not the Vindice. I almost got killed today by a Vindice who was also a vampire. What Cozarto's journal says is true, they exist. I just saw Giotto's bodyguard, Reborn, today, and he saved me from that...person."

Adel's boyfriend looked like a pale sheet of white cloth. A shocked look crossed his face. Adel turned to say something, but failed. Enma had a grim frown on his face, although he wasn't as horribly shocked as Kaoru, who was possessed by their resident first gen Mist guardian, Daemon.

"Who?" 'Kaoru' asked, stupefied.

"The vampire Reborn and the Vindice member, Sawada Tsunayoshi. I wouldn't have thought it was possible, but my ring glowed when Tsunayoshi got close to me. Reborn only confirmed it, but I don't think they're allies. It seemed that Tsuna has orders to kill himself if Reborn tells anyone who doesn't already know about it. Or something like that. What Tsuna said was a big vague, but he's definitely not fully there."

Daemon was already in the process of getting a migraine at this information. Too bad fate didn't like him, or he might have succeeded in his plane to take over the Vongola.

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Tsuna glared at the black flame touching the air above his hand, floating just above the palm of his hand. He pressed his lips together, a stressful feeling overfilling his stomach, though he had no idea why. A twisted frown marred his face as if it were a large scar.

He remembered his previous life, but also the pain. He regretted a lot of things. He was Tsuna, but he wasn't. He felt human, sane, somewhere, but he couldn't reach for it, like it was just out of his _grasp_hold_vision_sight_range._ He knew it was there, and he knew that the light of his previous self was there, and he was starved of it. He couldn't reach it, despite knowing exactly where it was, because he couldn't get on the path that led to it. He wanted to find what was in that light – surely, Tsuna figured, if his previous self loved all those selfish humans around him, that he'd have some sort of clue on why Tsuna both hated his previous self and why he also wanted whatever his previous self was, back.

Behind his insanity was no hate. His hate for Checkerface, the one that caused this whole mess, for Reborn, who dragged him into it, and Natsu, who caused him so much pain, and the one who was the trigger for all that followed that night in the alley.

However much he wanted to, Tsuna couldn't hide it – the sliver of _complete_full_whole_together_happiness_ he felt when his Night flame danced across his fingers. His Hyper Intuition spoke now, too, and that flame that would do anything, even cut off Iemitsu's hand, had vanished.

Tsuna didn't know what to think.

The one thing he did know, however, was that surely, if he followed Bermuda's clear and strict orders, something might come of it. He would be able to reach that light of his past self, and figure out why his foolish past self had been so sacrificial and caring. He didn't understand how anyone, especially himself, could act like that. It was stupid.

Tsuna let the flame flicker out of existence. At it's leave, a flash of pain streaked across his neck, and Tsuna's eyes widened. He remembered Natsu, falling on the floor, broken arm, and the pain of the knife slashed across his neck. He had been so frantic, so terrified of dying that day, he'd dragged himself to the bathroom in hopes to stop the bleeding.

Yet Tsuna couldn't remember just why his previous self had been so determined to live of all things. Considering how Natsu was, Tsuna couldn't see why his previous self hadn't fought back either.

He needed to reach the light. He had to find out. Tsuna would find the answers to his questions, and he'd follow Bermuda to do so, since Bermuda's orders were the only clear thing to listen to. The only sound that didn't repeat with another thousand words of synonyms and antonyms.

Tsuna wilted. _Yes,_ he thought. _I am happy._

_I have to be. If I weren't, then this all would've been for nothing._

_Right...?_

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Reborn slammed the door open to Tsuna's room with a kick. If not for Reborn's restraining himself, the door would have gone flying off its hinges and smashed through the window on the other side of the room. The Night flame flickered out of Tsuna's hand as he jumped off his bed, and glared at the elder vampire.

"What do you want?" demanded Tsuna, irritable. He didn't want to have to keep short warping away from Reborn again. The hitman had already interrupted his fun with Enma, the Shimon kid, and had tried to force him to go places he didn't want to go to; mainly, school.

"We're going out." Reborn told him. "I know the old Tsuna has to be in there, and I'll be damned if I let that illusionist through my memories for nothing."

Tsuna sniffed, then brought up a hand to cover his nose, scrunching up his face. "You bit him, urgh, I can smell his blood on you. I thought you wouldn't drink shit blood, and I doubt Mukuro's blood tastes good when he hardly eats anything as it is, shitfaced mentor."

Reborn clicked his tongue and gave a wolfish grin, completely opposite to his previous moods he had when around Tsuna. He used his speed to dart across the room and pick up Tsuna by the crook of his elbow, and heaved the boy up off his feet. "I never said that!" Reborn exclaimed in a loud voice. "When there's better choices around, I'd rather drink that, but he offered payment for seeing my memories – so I took it. I can't drink your blood anymore, Tsunayoshi. Your body is dead, so the blood doesn't flow anymore, plus you're a vampire, which means if I drink it, it's the equivalent of drinking an entire bottle of vodka for a human. I don't intend to get drunk either, so I took what was mine as payment. Nothing much, was it?"

"Why don't you drink Natsu's blood?" asked Tsuna. It was a question he thought about frequently, since Natsu was always within arm's reach of Reborn. It puzzled him greatly. "He's Giotto's descendant, plus he has a sky flame. If I had to drink anyon'es blood, I'd bite him."

Reborn snorted disdainfully. "You'd probably kill him by taking all his blood," said Reborn. "so no. We're going to Kokuyo Land, and you're gonna get stabbed with Mukuro's trident."

Tsuna was immediately trying to shove Reborn away after that. He drove his fist into Reborn's unprotected side, and when that didn't work, he reached up and bit down on Reborn's arm that was holding him. A trail of blood ran down Reborn's arm and the hitman gritted his teeth in pain and kicked Tsuna away. A chunk of flesh was spit from Tsuna's mouth and Reborn held a hand over the ripped up arm Tsuna has caused.

"I don't think that's a good idea, _sensei~. _Mukuro must know, which means I can kill him without repercussions if I wanted to, and have the Vindice blame it on someone else. Do you really think I won't kill him for trying to get me to fight against Bermuda-sama?"

Reborn took his hand away from his bloody arm, and reached into his jacket. He brought out a rope and a pair of handcuffs. "Yes, yes I do, dame-Tsuna."

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It had started. Daemon was no easy opponent, and Reborn knew one misstep could end in his head getting sliced off. The spirit has sought him out for a deal. ("You of all people must understand how weak the Vongola has become! Help me, Reborn, and we can turn Giotto's famiglia into something great!" "I don't care if the Vongola lives or dies, Spade, I only care about whether or not my food is in good condition.")

Tsuna had disappeared off into Rokudo Mukuro's lair (Reborn could still hear his screams of annoyance as he had lost the ability to short warp with night flames). Natsu, Reborn could hear, was off with Enma and Adel, who were explaining the entire situation and the misunderstanding that had taken place back when they thought Giotto had betrayed Cozarto and left him to die some hundred years back.

"How do you know Giotto helped Cozarto?" asked Natsu. It didn't add up that after months of planning the Shimon would just up and tell him how they planned to kill him and his guardians on a shady piece of evidence. "Did you just happen to read further into his diary yesterday, on pure chance? That's ridiculous."

"Y-yeah," Enma replied. Truthfully, it was Reborn that told them, which then prompted Daemon to try to destroy Reborn.

"You sure?" Natsu knew he had to be suspicious about everything now. Tsuna was acting weird, Reborn was staying in his adult form and actively defending Natsu himself despite them both knowing that Reborn didn't favor Natsu, and a new mafia group showing up was odd. His Hyper Intuition wouldn't leave him alone either. The inheritance ceremony the old bastards Timoteo and Iemitsu were planning didn't reassure Natsu's Hyper Intuition in the least. Timoteo and Iemitsu had no idea of what had happened in the past few months since the battle with Xanxus and just how fucked up Reborn and Tsuna were. Even the guardians had noticed and were staying away ever since the Shimon showed up – perhaps before then, if they were the same as Natsu, and sensed something off with one of their sky's. Natsu hadn't cared to ask, and Hayato and Chrome hardly showed up anymore; and they were both the ones who generally stayed in the Chaos house all day.

Natsu had the full sky ring – but part of it wasn't his. Both Tsuna and Natsu were supposed to succeed, and Natsu wouldn't accept anything less. He wouldn't accept Tsuna shoving the ring on him as if his duty meant nothing to him.

That being said, Timoteo, his guardians, the CEDEF and Colonello and Lal Mirch were all on their way over, along with the rest of the mafia world, to the twisted happenings of Reborn and the Vongola heirs. Reborn and Tsuna's secrets wouldn't last long, Natsu was sure. He just didn't know if he wanted to hear them.

His annoying Hyper Intuition didn't.

"Yes." Enma said, glancing at Adel. His hands trembled. The urge to tell the stubborn Decimo was weighing on him.

"Alright." said Natsu, watching the two Shimon members leave. Their story didn't bother him that much – after all, why fuss over something that 'could have been' when shit was clearly going down elsewhere. Natsu hardly cared if Enma was his enemy or ally, if he helped get Tsuna back to his normal self (his Hyper Intuition wouldn't let him refer to Tsuna as Tsuna, which confused Natsu to no end), Natsu would accept him.

Convincing Hayato was going to be hard. The big guy and Takeshi were already friends, so that was no problem. Hibari and Mukuro were going to throw a fit, but that was Tsuna's problem, no this. Lambo and Chrome wouldn't care all that much, and Ryohei wouldn't listen to a word Natsu would say about them being almost-enemies with the Shimon, so Natsu didn't bring himself to care about telling his guardians. Reborn, it seemed, was beating up a 'possessed Kaoru' as Adel put it. Natsu had no idea what a Kaoru was, but nodded and went along with it as if he'd known the entire time.

Now all Natsu had to do was keep all the idiots around him alive while he waited for the Vongola to pick them up. It was easier said than done, Natsu was sure, but as he sat in the living room chair, staring at the empty coffee cup that Reborn had left there that morning (last night?) he couldn't help but grin. If things went to plan, Natsu would have his possession back, and he'd have leverage over Reborn even more so because of it.

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Mukuro didn't know what to do once he stabbed Tsuna. the stupid vampire with a fedora had said to make sure he could possess Tsuna, for some upcoming battle, but Mukuro didn't want to see what was inside his twisted sky's mind. Mukuro would never admit to hesitating, but anyone sane wouldn't want to go inside an Vindice's mind either. Mukuro had no idea if he'd be lost to the same insanity Tsuna was while inside the boy's mind, or if the Night flame inside Tsuna would devour his own. Ken and Chikusa gave Mukuro doubtful expressions.

The two had helped Mukuro subdue Tsuna, and that was the only thing Mukuro had ever asked of them. It was the least they could do, and also the most. He nodded to them, telling them it was fine for them to leave, now that Tsuna was unconscious. The chances of the brunet waking up anytime soon were little.

They were all bleeding from numerous cuts and scrapes, all from Tsuna's attempts to kill them, but even the Vindice couldn't see through Mukuro's illusions. Tsuna, who had only a few years of experience in handling illusions, had no chance against Mukuro's illusions. It also might of helped that Reborn had stuck a hand through Tsuna's stomach and left a gaping hole there and then left them to deal with Tsuna in any way they wanted, as long as Mukuro fulfilled his end of the deal.

Hopefully it would work, Mukuro thought, and entered Tsuna's mind as easily as walking through a doorway.

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Two days after the battle with Daemon, Reborn lay on the roof of his house in his adult form, eyes closed. Tsuna came through a portal of Night flames and landed next to Reborn. Reborn opened one eye, looking up at his former apprentice, curious as to why the brunet would appear randomly during the day. Generally Tsuna only ran away from Reborn or sought him out to tick him off. Reborn, after shooting through Daemon's little illusions, was already upset in an angry way about Daemon's betrayal to Giotto, and had no patience for Tsuna's tricks at the moment.

Tsuna lunged at Reborn. He was slower than normal, as getting possessed and having a hole in one's stomach could do that to a person, and the hitman grabbed both of Tsuna's wrists before they could land a hit.

"What are you doing?" questioned Reborn.

Tsuna showed his sharp fangs. "I have new orders from Bermuda," he said, leaving off the honorific he normally teased Reborn with, since he knew the hitman hated hearing it. "no more killing myself now – I've been ordered to take that yellow pacifier away from you – oh, but don't worry, Papa, it's just to make sure you can't fight against us in the Representative Battle. Your little interference with finding the loopholes in our agreement pissed off my boss, which means now I get to do this-!"

Reborn kept a tight hold on Tsuna's wrists even after the brunet started to burn Reborn with his Night flames. The two stared each other down on the rooftop, the sunlight shining down as it always had before, one frowning and the other grinning.

"I won't let you." said Reborn. "The old Tsuna would never do this. Plus, I'm Reborn. I'm not going to brood and feel sorry for myself forever. Now, why is it that you want to die so badly? Why is it that you loathe me for picking you up from that alley that night? I have protected you, and yet now you want to kill me? If that is your dying will, then it must have been at least a thought in the old Tsuna's mind, so I want to know why you thought that. Why is that, of all things, your dying will?

Tsuna was confused. It showed on his face, and he slowly, almost as catious as a cat stalking a sparrow, said, "Because I hate living...? I hate Natsu for doing this to me, and I hate you for forcing me to live." Tsuna pressed his lips together, just looking at Reborn. He pressed his fingers against Reborn's own wrists, holding on, so that Reborn could not back away. "I hate you, I suppose."

Reborn wanted to sigh. "Then so be it."

Tsuna pulled his lips back in a snarl and jerked away. As he pulled back, letting go of Reborn, he put his left foot forward and hooked it around Reborn's ankle, and used the taller form of Reborn as leverage to swing himself around so that he was at Reborn's side, and then let go, and dropped off the side of the roof.

The hitman raised an eyebrow and stared down at Tsuna, who grinned wolfishly and waved, then, like a five year old child, skipped into the house. He was most likely going off to annoy Natsu before disappearing again. Reborn could guess that much at least.

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It was the meeting day. Well, what was supposed to be. Since Reborn and Tsuna were both extremely violent towards one another, far past the normal for what would be considered a mentor-apprentice spar. Rebron had only been seen in fleeting instances. Strangely enough, Mukuro was dropping by every other day, and bottles of what Natsu suspected wasn't wine filled up the fridge door with a sign saying, "No touching, this is Reborn's property!" written in purple crayon was over it. Natsu hadn't dared touch it. He knew exactly what it was, and he wasn't in denial like Takeshi and Hayato were, who were clearly trying to avoid the creepy-enough topic of why Reborn was storing blood in the fridge and why more appeared each time Mukuro walked by.

Electric wires ran all through the door and around the bottles. How Reborn got them, Natsu had no idea, and he didn't consider finding out. It was a waste of his time, and he had no intention of drinking what was in the bottles anyways. What Reborn did was what Reborn did, and Natsu didn't care as long as Tsuna didn't end up dead due to whatever it was Reborn did.

Natsu recalled what had happened since their time travel. He figured since that was where it all started, then he might find a clue in what Tsuna's new behavior might come from. First Tsuna and Reborn disappear into the future, then Reborn comes back at the last second, only to collapse in front of them. Tsuna starts mouthing off to Natsu, and Reborn stays in his adult for most of all the time. Then they all find out that Reborn goes away from the house and only comes back occasionally. Tsuna had always gone the same time as Reborn, and they never returned until at least two days had passed. All of them, especially Bianchi, and taken note of the hitman's injuries when he came back to check on them. The wounds were getting worse each time. Bianchi had insisted on treating them, but Reborn had growled at her (much like a dog, so much that it stunned Hayato, who had been in the kitchin sitting and eating, and Natsu, who had been playing shogi with Chrome) when she had come close.

Natsu had yet to clean the blood off the couch. Bianchi would have tried, but her spirits had been down after Reborn had lashed out at her. Hayato (whenever he actually came back to the house) had taken to staying around Natsu twenty-four seven.

On the fourth day, Natsu had decided that things were going too far and summoned the guardians for a meeting. Hayato and Takeshi arrived first, at the same time. They hadn't bothered trying to start a round of insults after seeing the look on Natsu's face.

They both knew that look far too well. It was the look Natsu wore when he didn't care to put up a façade. It was the look Natsu wore when he believed he'd lost control, and was about to viciously grab it back (by hurting-beating-abusing Tsuna). It was the look that told them they were dealing with someone who did not fear Reborn's threats anymore.

The other guardians arrived later, with an annoyed Hibari being last. Mukuro, Chrome and Hibari were Tsuna's, and Natsu knew they didn't particularly like him, so he didn't throw a wine glass at them when they arrived late.

Lambo wasn't to be included in the meeting. Natsu, while he knew the kid had great lightning abilities, wasn't about to include him in something this personal to Natsu. Tsuna was his, and he wasn't about to let the brat in on his secrets. Ryohei wasn't included for the obvious reason that Natsu absolutely avoided the Sun guardian at all costs (he couldn't help but see dear, sweet, _dead _Kyoko as a ghost beside her beloved brother, smiling, laughing and welcoming Natsu with open arms to walk into his own death, by her brother's side).

(Sometimes, when Reborn slept in the night, and the moon was full, Natsu saw a blank-faced woman by Reborn's side, who was a replica of Yuni besides the fact that she was older, and her hair just a tiny bit shorter, with dark, deep red eyes that always searched past Natsu's own gaze for something Natsu knew would never be there. Natsu didn't like the woman, because she was almost real, she always knew he was there, and she always looked at him with that piercing gaze that Natsu could not hold.)

"What is this about, herbivore?" demanded Hibari. The skylark stood near the kitchen exit, leaning against the door frame. The others were thrown about the room in different positions, all looking at the Vongola heir.

"Tsuna and Reborn have been acting weird, and the way the Shimon backed off is suspicious. I haven't seen Enma for a couple of days and he's usually always over asking for me to give him the 'Sin' thing that Reborn warned me about before taking off yet again. I wasn't really listening, but apparently its important. Later today, I'm supposed to meet with the Ninth to discuss how the Inheritance trial is supposed to go, so I'm asking you for advice on what to do with how much I tell the Ninth about all of this. And don't give that shit about not knowing because all of you have been avoiding Tsuna like he's the plague, and I know there's something off with him."

"Kufufufu, it is quite unusual," chuckled Mukuro, putting a hand over his lips. "but I, unfortunately, already know what's going on."

"I do too." Chrome said, gripping onto Mukuro's sleeve. She kept close to him. Mukuro didn't seem to mind. Natsu's Hyper Intuition seemed to whisper something about family and bonds into his ear, suspiciously in Kyoko's voice, but he tried his best not to hear it's inconsistent, incomprehensible mumbling. "but we can't tell you anything without the Sun Arcobaleno's permission. I'm sorry, Giotto-san."

Natsu wasn't about to lay down and play dead today. Nobody took his brother from him. Or without information about him. Tsuna was his and though Natsu didn't blame him for Kyoko's death any longer, he'd beat Tsuna to bits if that was what it took to get him to understand.

His Hyper Intuition kept on whispering, for the past month, that Tsuna was gone, that his old self was lost, that it was taken, stolen and hidden away, and Natsu honestly couldn't figure out what exactly about Tsuna was lost. His behavior was weird, but it didn't help explain what his stupid Hyper Intuition was bothering him about.

"Ah, I just thought of something rather evil." Natsu announced in his normal, deadpan voice. "Since Tsuna's acting on some weird...dying will, as my Hyper Intuition insists, his mind would revert back if I acted like I did previously, wouldn't it? It would switch his instincts from fight to flee."

"That might...actually work." said Hayato. The Storm guardian didn't sound pleased at the idea. "It isn't the best way."

"Haha, Reborn would kill us if we did anything to hurt Tsuna." Takeshi added.

"The omnivore can handle it." said Hibari, taking his stand. "Or else I'll bite him to death."

"The Sun Arcobaleno and I discussed another way but I cannot use that on him right now," said Mukuro. "I believe it could work, kufufufu. We'd have to have a good opportunity, perhaps one that the Shimon could offer? They would get this 'sin' that Reborn and the Vongola keep talking about and power up so if something goes wrong they can help us, and Giotto here can blame Tsuna for it. Once we're all beaten up he'll be forced to return with Reborn since no matter how much he thinks he can ignore hi elements, he'll be able to feel us get hurt."

"That means that we'll have to lose," murmured Chrome. "we'll have to almost die."

"It has to be serious. The only way I think Tsuna will come is if the Vongola rings are broken, because he'll likely find you," Hayato paused and pointed at Natsu for a good measure of time. "powerless and try to kill you. That's when you strike. When we're unable to help."

"So we have to get the Shimon to agree, and make it through this without alerting the Ninth, Iemitsu or anyone else. And they're coming here this week."

"Precisely." Hayato agreed with Natsu.

"What about the hitman?" this time it was Hibari who spoke.

It was unusual for the Cloud to involve himself in Vongola matters – Natsu didn't think he'd agree to come to the inheritance ceremony to begin with. Hibari had trained Tsuna along with Reborn, so it wouldn't surprise Natsu if he was overprotective like Reborn was of Tsuna. Natsu could bet that what Tsuna was acting like was exactly what he acted like after Kyoko died.

Perhaps it was what he deserved, Natsu thought .

"I don't think the baby would like this idea very much." said Takeshi. "All of us, getting beat up? Tsuna would kill you Natsu, he's just like you now. Reborn can only do so much, and Tsuna wants to kill him too. You've seen their 'spars'. Hehe, they honestly try to kill each other. Their whole reason for leaving the house is probably because of that."

"I know. It's a risk." stated Natsu. "But his dying will won't change on its own unless we force it to. By using his elements, he'll feel your pain, to some extent, and since he knows nobody will be protecting me then, he'll have to come. We can get our answers then."

"Kufufufufu, then I guess we'll get the Shimon to go along with their original plan then, won't we?"

Natsu smirked. "Yes we will."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

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**Not edited**

**.**

(Between trying to handle a new dog in the house, one that we now have for my sister as a medic/comfort dog (think blind guide dog, the dogs with the vests that can go in public places) and handling my sister herself, things have been rough. However, here is another update. That is my reason for not updating in a long time. Real life stuff sucks, doesn't it?)

**QUESTION TIME: **What do you think of Natsu's Hyper Intuition (hint hint)? Also, what fics have you guys been reading lately (any fandom, i'm bored and need new reading material)? ALSO have any of you guys played fantasy life for the 3ds because its a wonderful game? All of you should check it out.


	22. Lal the Sidekick

**Red**

**Chapter Twenty One**

Enma was not pleased.

"You don't understand. If Reborn can't beat him, there's no way you'll be able to!" the Shimon boss said. He wasn't good at convincing people of things, and he was just as dame as Tsuna used to be, but he would sure as hell try. "Tsuna isn't Tsuna right now. I can't let you do this – I won't help you get yourselves killed!"

"Ah," hummed Chrome. "You know what they are too?"

"Yes." Enma hissed, moving back further into the side of the couch, curling up. He pressed his knees close to his chest, and drew his arms forward around his knees, and lets his hands hang lightly in front of him. He pressed his lips together. After a short silence, he brought his eyes and asked hesitantly, "I suppose you won't tell them?"

"Mukuro-nii said not to." said Chrome, shrugging. Her nonchalant attitude did nothing to help the frown marring her lips, showing her uncertainty on the subject. "Will you?"

"I-I-," Enma flinched, looked at the Vongola, and then at the windows. It was clear to all of them that he was checking for anyone who might be listening in on their conversation. He didn't have the same Hyper Intuition as Tsuna or Natsu, but living on an island with numerous dangerous beasts gave a person a sort of sixth sense needed to see if anyone was attempting to listen in on a conversation. "You say Reborn and Tsuna disappeared in your future...right? Well, the Vindice turned Tsuna into one of them after someone bit him. Luce, Yuni, Reborn – they're all vampires, and now Tsuna's one too. He's not on our side, as far as I can tell from meeting him and what Reborn hinted at earlier. He's got speed, strength, and from what Reborn's told me, heightened Hyper Intuition. The Vindice boss, his name is Bermuda. He's the one that's ordering Tsuna to do all the things that he's done, and he isn't a friend. You-you- if you think you can beat the Vindice, then you're crazy."

"We're screwed." Hayato said, his face pale. He sunk down in the chair behind him, just left of Enma. The chair squeaked as the Storm guardian fell into it, and rocked back slightly. Hayato covered his face with his hands, sinking lower. "We're so screwed."

Everyone else in the room took in the statement that they had to go against the _Vindice _of all things with silence. It was crazy to go against the Vindice. Anyone in the mafia wouldn't dare to go against the Vindice. Anyone who had tried in the past had severely regretted it. Not even the Vongola living in Italy – the Ninth generation – would dare go against the Vindice.

"The plan will work, but he'll try to kill you. He's not sane." said Enma, referencing to the plan Natsu and the guardians had made earlier. "He's not the same Tsuna you've always known."

"This makes me question just why exactly Reborn took Tsuna for in the first place." said Hayato.

"Figure it out yourselves," growled Natsu, angry. He didn't have the patience to talk with fools who were afraid of some stupid people wrapped in cloaks and bandages. He hardly cared about going against the Vindice if it meant Tsuna would return. "I'm going up to my room. If we're going to do this, we have to decide before Reborn, the Ninth and Iemitsu get here. The Inheritance ceremony is coming up and whether or not we go against the Vindice will be dependent on the fact that they don't find out."

"Haha, you don't really care about the Inheritance ceremony very much, do you Natsu?" asked Takeshi, knowing the answer already.

"Like I care about the Vongola – I only care about what's mine, like Tsuna...and you guys." said Natsu, his voice as dry and void of anything as it always was. "I've already killed Byakuran just for you annoying people, and if I have to 'lose' against Enma's family to save you idiots then so be it."

Hibari chose this moment to leave through the kitchen window. Mukuro raised an eyebrow at Chrome (who had him tied up in ropes so he couldn't start a fight with Hibari). Chrome rolled her eyes, but released the ropes holding Mukuro, and disappeared in a flash of pretty mini fireworks. Mukuro sighed at her dramatic flair.

"Chrome can go as the Mist guardian." He said, and disappeared into thin air, much more normally than Chrome had chosen to. The two mist guardians had been jumping daisies around one another trying not to anger one another now that Chrome had decided to fight, with Mukuro insisting that she didn't since if her trident broke she'd be without organs yet again. They'd be fighting about it more than not.

Ryohei nodded at Natsu, and was taken out the door by Hayato and Takeshi, who waved goodbye to Natsu. Ryohei and Natsu's relationship was a tense one walking on a tightrope of glass, and one that was sure to break the moment Natsu stepped wrong. Takeshi and Hayato knew this, and so they found it their self-appointed job to separate the Sky and Sun as soon as possible whenever they came in contact.

Lambo pulled out candy from his afro and began to munch on it. He stayed quiet throughout the whole conversation, sitting by Hayato's feet, so Natsu allowed him to eat in the living room. Enma sat curled up on the couch, not moving away from Natsu, who stood across from him, but not moving off the couch either. They both looked at each other, each knowing what the other would say.

After a long moment, Natsu broke eye contact and scowled. "Stupid guardians." He walked out of the living room and hiked up the stairs. "Dame-Tsuna better come back. I don't intend to die because of you, _Enma."_

On the rooftop, Reborn smirked. Eavesdropping was easy for him. He was laying on his back with his arms underneath his head, padding it, and had his eyes closed. Blood dripped onto the gutters, running down the roof from Reborn's position. Where the hitman's right eye was supposed to be was a gaping hole, covered by dirty, blood-stained bandages. His right leg also had a dozen deep gashes in it, many going down to the bone.

Silently, Reborn opened his one eye and stared up at the sky, a wistful smile on his face.

"I never thought that you'd join him in Bermuda's orders to kill the 'most annoying Arcobaleno'." Reborn laughed at his own words, and then spoke again, "I can barely heal myself, you know."

As if responding to Reborn's words, Luce walked into his view, standing at Reborn side. She bent down, and let down her dress lay below her legs as she sat. Her bloody, bandaged face matched Reborn's, and the stitches on her pale leg peeking out from her stained white dress told a story of their own. She revealed nothing – only a blank expression that would have matched a doll's laid plain for all to see on her face.

"I'm sorry, Reborn." she said.

Reborn scoffed. "What use is a sorry to me, pitiful _sky_?"

He looked away from her when she brought her gaze to him. She knew Reborn was most resentful towards her, and held her accountable for what had become of him – what happened to Tsuna. She accepted it.

"I am more sane than Tsunayoshi, I admit, but I cannot disobey his orders. That's how it's always been, and yet, for some reason, I cannot bring myself to kill you."

"You remember me," said Reborn, glancing at Luce before closing his one eye again. He hummed the song every Trinisette Sky knew: the clam, the mare, and the rainbow. "and you don't want to kill me. As a Sky, you cannot kill your own elements. You cannot kill me, Luce. How _pitiful."_

"Even you will die with those wounds." Luce bit back. "Why do you not heal yourself?"

A moment that could have lasted a lifetime passed. From the tree near the house, a sparrow took flight, and a smaller sparrow followed after the first, tweeting a song for none to hear nor understand. The two passed overhead and Reborn watched them go, blinking.

"I can't." Reborn told Luce. "I've been giving my sun flames to Tsuna. He's been hesitating a lot more – I've brought back a sliver of his sky flames. It worked...but I don't have any flames left besides the ones I have to hold this form. If I were transform into a baby now, I'd die instantly. You should know this."

"Staying in that form with the sun pacifier sucking up your flames, you only have three months left at best. You're the same as me."

"Ah," Reborn's breath hitched and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Shudders wracked his body. Luce's face showed her pained expression for him for a moment and she reached over and put her small hands on his shoulders, helping him up in a sitting position, and steadying him as he put a hand over his mouth and spit out blood. Reborn gasped in air, eye widening, coughing more, and then laid back into Luce's hold reluctantly. "So there is some human kindness left in you, is there?"

Luce tightened her grip on his shoulders as he sat up straighter in response.

"If you really want to help me, then get me inside the house. You would have left me to die if you really did care for Bermuda's orders. What you said to Tsuna was a lie – as long as you are still moving, you can still feel your elements. So, leave me in the house, and then you can go back to trying to kill me, and it'll all be fine once I rest."

"You'll die if you fall asleep without healing those wounds." said Luce, stating it as a fact. She ignored his speak of elements and their skies perfectly. "However," she stood, and then bent down to pick up Reborn. "I will listen to a dying man's last request without arguing."

The white-clothed woman slid her arms underneath Reborn's shoulders and legs and lifted him up as if he were a piece of paper. Wet blood coated her hands, and it was clear to her that Reborn had lost more blood than he had let on, and was in much more pain than he cared to admit. She didn't mind the blood. Perhaps if she had still been alive, and not a Vindice, she would have flinched. Luce was no longer a sky. Her elements were out of her reach – she could no longer feel their anger, their sadness, their pain anymore. The only thing she could feel was an uneasiness when Reborn's apparent death became clear, and she knew he was going to die. It sent her mind in circles. She didn't want Reborn to die.

Though she had never been human, Luce valued the short time she was with her guardians. She respected Reborn and did not view herself as above him just because now she was truly immortal and he was not. It was very difficult to kill a vampire, but it was certainly impossible to kill a Vindice. The length of time Jager alone had been alive was proof to that. She had tried, back nearly sixty years ago when Bermuda had come to collect her, and she had failed.

Luce wasn't a fighter. She hated seeing humans die, especially after she had lost her lover to her own faults, and had left her human child without parents. Luce felt ashamed of what she had done, and the only one that understood was Reborn, who was older than she could ever imagine. She knew he was older than her by at least a century, but by the hints her mother had dropped, it was clear that Reborn had been turned into a vampire by her mother far before that time.

Luce's vampire mother was older than any person that lived – except the last living original whose name always changed throughout the decades. Luce didn't know what the man's name was, and she hadn't cared to find out when she had been young. She knew that Sephira was an original – both her and Reborn knew that. It was the reason why there weren't any other living vampires. The originals were the original vampires, and they had died out quickly, leaving only Sephira and the man who claimed the Arcobaleno side of the Trinisette.

Sephira had died when Luce was only six, leaving Reborn heartbroken and with a tiny child to raise for the next forty years until she was old enough to care for herself.

That being said, when Luce had been called by the man that was the same as her mother Sephira, having stopped aging physically around twenty years, she had met Reborn just a short while after he had left her on her own. He had been reintroduced as her Sun, and she, his Sky. Luce had accepted her role, because it was the least she could do after he had lost Sephira.

It had taken Luce a lot to convince Reborn to let himself be cursed and live just a bit longer before he was allowed to kill himself. It was only due to the Arcobaleno curse and the promise that Luce made that had convinced him. _"If not for me, then for all the others. For the humans. For this world, become the Sun Arcobaleno? You know what would happen if there was no one to fill your place! Please, just this once, look past Sephira's death and Giotto's and all of them to see the present and people in front of you!"_

Reborn had lost Giotto, a human who was like a best friend and brother to him, and dearest Sephira, and finally Luce herself due to the Vindice's grudge against him.

Luce was sure that unless Tsuna hadn't intervened, Reborn would have died. A miracle was that he lived now only for that boy, a human who was Giotto's descendant – Luce could guess that Reborn saw him as a son, or nephew, that he was responsible for.

Seeing him now, going against his Sky, his second Sky, Tsuna (the very person he was trying to save) and the monster Bermuda (whom they both hated for Sephira's death), was amazing. It was also heartbreaking to see such a lost, given-up sort of Reborn try to fight again.

"I truly am sorry, Renato Chaos."

Reborn snorted, twitching in her hold. "Whatever you say, Luce. That was only a name I used long ago. I don't remember my human name – but then again, you knew me as that when you were younger, didn't you? It holds the irony of being reborn as a vampire."

Luce short warped to Tsuna's unused bedroom and set Reborn down on the sheets. He groaned, unable to hide hi pain as he felt his leg hit the bed. Luce looked at him with eyes that showed her regret.

"You were a good watcher. I won't apologize for harming you, I have to act my part, but I will for abandoning you, and for mother. I hate Bermuda as much as you do, so I will help you when the time comes. With these injuries, Tsunayoshi should stay away. he'll be fighting off his human side, and his brother, so he's unlikely to bother you since he'll think you to be dead."

Luce let a smile come to her lips.

"I cannot heal you, but I can seal you with my Night Flames. This way you'll be stuck in time, like a coma, but you won't die or bleed to death. Your wounds should slowly heal as your flame instinctively heals you, but it will take awhile."

Reborn's wistful smirk widened. His face was pale, and his fedora was on sideways, almost falling off onto the bed. He could barely move, and the bandages slipping off his right eye showed a gruesome sight. It wasn't anything Luce was bothered by, but as her Sun, she couldn't stifle the sadness in her expression. She had helped him in her own way. She had injured him, and now helped him fake his death, so that the other Vindice would leave him be. They wouldn't think he would survive from the sorts of injuries parallel to Luce's own.

His breathing was shallow – something that only happened when a vampire was dying, for otherwise they had no reason to breathe for large amounts of time. His hair hung somewhat across his face in strands, and Reborn couldn't bother to move them away.

Reborn breathed out a long breath, and said, "Well then, hurry up. I don't have all day, light."

Luce nodded, held her hands up, and let her Night Flames outward, created runes around her Sun. As soon as the flames faded, and Reborn's breathing slowed, his body went limp, and his one eyes closed, she nodded again, to herself, and was gone.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Reborn was a bloody mess on the bed, and wasn't anywhere close to waking up. Bianchi was the first one to find him, coming home from her date with Lancia, and was consequently the first one to smell the blood. She had been the one to find the should-be-dead vampire. By now, Bianchi was aware that Reborn wasn't human, the Vongola Decimo had told everyone who lived in the Chaos house. The nameplate outside the house was marked over with the word 'chaos' in English as well, instead of the Japanese Sawada written in nice, smooth font.

Apparently that was what Reborn claimed his last name to be. No one believed him, but nobody argued with him about it either, and since that was his most casual greeting in his adult form, it was taken sincerely.

After Bianchi had finished wrapping the comatose vampire's wounds, Natsu arrived home from school. Hayato was called over almost immediately, whom had stayed behind to work with one of the clubs he was in, and the silver-haired guardian had quickly figured out that whatever sort of frozen time spell Reborn was under couldn't be broken by normal means. When Hayato explained that normal means meant getting someone to heal the wounds or putting Reborn in Shamal's care, Bianchi and Natsu weren't pleased to hear that those wouldn't work. Something that would have definitely woken the hitman up didn't, such as a short burst of killing intent, which Reborn would have always woken up to in preparation for facing enemies.

"We should call Shamal. He might know how to help, in the least. I think Reborn had help. Otherwise there'd be blood on the floor. Someone must have carried him. His hands are bloody, but the doorknobs aren't."

"Hayato's right," said Natsu, agreeing. He stood in the middle of the room, behind Hayato, who was examining Reborn's wounds. Bianchi was at Natsu's side, looking uncertain. The wounds were gruesome, and something that spoke heights about what exactly a person like Reborn could and couldn't survive.

"We shouldn't tell anyone else. I don't think Decimo was the one that did this. He would have killed Reborn. Whoever helped Reborn, they probably meant to hide him, and what better place than the last place Decimo would willingly go?" said Hayato. "If he finds out Reborn's weak like this – if word spreads that the number one hitman Reborn is in a coma and as near to death as one could possibly be, it'd be a disaster."

"So the less people know, the better?" inquired Natsu.

"Yes," answered Bianchi, reaching forward over Hayato's shoulder and feeling Reborn's forehead.

It was cold, same as his body, which held no warmth, so they couldn't tell if he had an infection with the multiple life threatening injuries. The wounds were too deep and too large to see anything that might hint at an infection. It would be impossible to treat the injures while they were frozen in time; they weren't affected by the Sun flames that Hayato provided. They still bled, but over the short period of time since Bianchi had found Reborn, it was clear that despite the blood, the wounds were healing slowly on their own.

Which meant they'd have to wait it out, all while making sure Sawada Tsunayoshi didn't discover the disabled hitman. It was going to be hard – Tsuna could smell blood, and the Ninth and Iemitsu were due to arrive at any time. Natsu knew they'd want to see Reborn, to ask for updates on how the training was going, which mean they'd have to explain all their dirty secrets if they figured out what had happened to Reborn.

Secrets about the future, about Yuni and Reborn being vampires, about Luce and Tsunayoshi, the Vindice (who weren't so good after all). About Bermuda and his will to destroy them all, about Reborn almost dead, and the important upcoming Arcobaleno Representative Battle (which was only a cover for a death game) and just what that would entail – and about why Reborn had taken Tsuna in the first place. About Natsu's reluctance to meet with them, about the Shimon, about Nana, who Iemitsu thought was still living there.

Natsu wanted to punch something. He wanted to let loose his flames again, let them control him, just like in the past when he'd beaten and tried to kill Tsuna, when he hand' cared about anyone other than his beloved Kyoko and her death. He knew, soon, he'd have to do so again, to get Tsuna back to normal, even if it would likely traumatize Tsuna, even if it would ruin him.

It was an evil plan, and Natsu wanted to laugh, because he was just like that now. His intentions, although not spoken aloud, were clear to his guardians and Tsuna's. They only put up with him because there was no other option, and because Tsuna cared, and Natsu knew that if that wasn't the case, they'd throw him away like trash. He was a sociopath. Reborn had told him that, and made sure that he knew what would happen if he let that slip to the higher ups in Vongola.

A sociopath versus a not sane vampire twin with Night flames. It would be a lovely battle.

The doorbell rang. They all jumped, then froze in anticipation. Bianchi looked down at her hands, bloody from wrapping Reborn's eye and leg in bandages. Hayato was sleeping, sitting up with his bloodied hands on the bedside, obviously tired from attempting to heal Reborn's wounds with his secondary flame.

Bianchi gave Natsu a regretful look. "Sorry, you'll have to open the door. I tshoudl be the Ninth, Iemitsu, and the Ninth's guardians, along with Lal Mirch and Colonello. They're here to see how you're doing with gathering your guardians before the Inheritance ceremony is placed on a specific date. Be nice, be polite, and don't screw up. Act like you're that pretty boy in school again or something – anything!"

"What will you do? He's still in pain and someone has to watch him to make sure nobody finds him."

"Distract them then! Get the Mist's to do something – hell, call Nana to entertain them, tell her we have problems – something!" said Bianchi. She left the room at a hurried pace to wash her hands in the bathroom sink.

Natsu went down the stairs and slowly opened the door. He didn't bother to smile. He only stared at Timoteo and the rest, and raised an eyebrow at the elderly guardians. He didn't like weak people, and old timers were more likely to have lost their touch as much as Iemitsu's chance at becoming a good father.

"Hello." greeted Timoteo.

Lal, who had been Natsu's teacher in the future, scowled and hopped up onto his head. Natsu let her, observing how she looked in baby form. Colonello whined, saying he was left out, to which Lal responded with a thrown shoe and a loud yell.

"Oi!" yelled Bianchi from upstairs, sounding adequately frustrated. "No yelling!"

Natsu perked up. He guessed that she was worried for Reborn and his comatose reaction to loud sounds with his vampire hearing, which on the off chance that Reborn actually woke up to, might set him off to an immediate 'in enemy territory' response.

"Bianchi." Natsu murmured, sighing. Yelling down the stairs, and being closer to Reborn while doing so, wasn't any better than Lal yelling at Colonello for being a 'wimp'.

"Is there something wrong with the Poison Scorpion?" asked Timoteo's Storm, Coyote Nougat.

"No, she's just on her period right now," Natsu said in a nice, polite voice. He was pretty sure that girls got all pissy on their periods, so it was a good excuse in his mind.

Iemitsu winced. "Ah, I remember when my dear Nana was like that!"

"Shut up, please," said Natsu in the lightest voice he could manage. He smiled. "Hayato is sleeping upstairs so don't disturb him. He's in Tsuna's," no, Natsu thought, it wasn't Tsuna's room because Tsuna was gone-gone-gone and Tsuna wasn't Tsuna, his Hyper Intuition wouldn't let him forget it- "room."

Natsu opened the door fully and then ran back up the stairs and opened the room that Reborn lie in and ran in, slamming the door behind him. The nice boy façade slipping off his face in an instant and he let out a frustrated growl.

"Bianchi! Do something! I'm not going to entertain a bunch of old guys – and you!" Natsu realized that he'd forgotten Lal was sitting on his head. Her mouth was wide open and her eyes rested on Reborn's bloody, bandage covered form. "Help figure out how to help Reborn!" Natsu picked Lal up and practically threw her onto Reborn's chest.

"W-what is this? And how is Reborn still alive?"

"I trust you not to tell anyone, so you'd better not. We're at war with the Vindice." responded Natsu. "They did this to him. Tsuna isn't here either."

"Reborn is a vampire." added Bianchi. She was perched over Hayato, shaking his shoulders to wake him. Her whole body was tensed, and her shoulder up high, and the edges of her toes were curled inwards. "I'll wake up Hayato, he can explain the injuries better than I can. We have to go downstairs and make it look like everything's alright so on the chance that Tsuna stops by he won't notice anything."

With that, Bianchi was dragging Natsu out of the room and the two were gone. Lal looked at the sleeping face of Reborn with half his face bloody and bandaged and stared for a long while, not accustomed to seeing such an injured Reborn.

"I guess I can at least use my flames to numb the pain." Lal told the sleeping Reborn.

Her hands lit up with Rain flames and her face scrunched up in concentration. Slowly, the furrowed brow and tense body of Reborn untied itself and a peaceful sort of expression settled over not just Reborn, but the entire room.

Hayato opened his eyes, groggily waking from sleeping and looked at the tiny Arcobaleno. Taking in the Rain flames shifting and pulling at the room and the occupants within it, he nodded. "Thank you."

Lal turned to glare at him. "Reborn, he's one of us, no matter how much he denies it. I won't abandon a fellow Arcobaleno. With Luce, gone, we have to stick together. That's it. I don't give a shit if he's not human. He's still Reborn."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**Natsu and his fellow companions are on their own, and taking Lal along with the ride. Let's see how this turns out!**

**.**

Q: Any predictions on what's going to happen? Willing to take a guess?

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	23. Enma Stabs Natsu :)

**Red**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Hayato had watch that night, after Lal had tired herself out using her flames and was sleeping on Reborn's chest. The hitman had yet to move and the previously white bandages were stained red again. The wounds weren't getting worse, but they weren't healing as fast as Reborn's wounds should have, given his vampire abilities.

The Ninth generation had retired to a nearby hotel (that mysteriously had the word Vongola in its name) and had left Natsu, Bianchi, Hayato and Lal at the house. Lal had made it very adamant about the fact that she wanted to stay so she could train Natsu, when in reality she was trying to help Reborn's injuries heal. Colonello had protested saying he should stay as well, but Lal had angrily fired off a few bullets, grumpy and tired from using a lot of her flames.

It was morning yet again, and all the four house occupants had bags under their eyes. The clear tension in the air of whether or not Reborn would die or ever wake up again hung over them like a death threat.

From upstairs came the high pitched voice of Lal, "His hand twitched!"

Suddenly the slow moving zombies exploded and the three who weren't watching Reborn bolted upstairs. Once they all reached the vampire's side, Hayato realized something.

"Wait, maybe we're doing this all wrong," he said. "Reborn's a vampire, and from how long Tsuna spend alone with him, it's likely that he drank Tsuna's blood...meaning it might heal him."

"There's no way we'll be able to get his blood." scoffed Natsu listening to the dull sound of Reborn's slow breathing. It was a telltale sign that things were bad, considering Reborn didn't need to breathe. "Tsuna would kill us."

"He's not going to heal like this. The wounds aren't getting worse or better, and he wouldn't be alive if it weren't for this." said Bianchi. "The injuries are healing, but he's still bleeding, despite the wounds closing. It's unlikely that he'll be awake anytime soon, which puts us at a disadvantage. We can't hide Reborn's disappearance if it lasts a month, or longer."

"We could ask Yuni." Natsu put in, shrugging a shoulder as if it was a common occurrence to 'go ask Yuni' something. "She's a vampire."

Hayato and Bianchi took the Sky Arcobaleno being a vampire in stride. "That would work," Bianchi said. "and it's easier than trying to get Tsuna's blood."

"That's not plausible. She's in _Italy_." Hayato stressed. "Plus, she's not born yet – from what Byakuran tells us the Sky Pacifier will call on her when she's needed and then she'll appear – but now? Reborn isn't her element, nor Aria's. They can't sense him or any of the current Arcobaleno. They don't have the same bond Lal and Reborn have to Luce. I doubt Yuni will appear until the Arcobaleno Representative's need to be picked."

"Which means we have to hid Reborn tough the Inheritance ceremony, get the Shimon to successfully steal the sin, and near kill you guys, trick Tsuna into coming after you and trigger his trauma reaction, get him back to normal, try not to die before the Battle starts, and when it does, get Yuni to tell us how to cure Reborn, or somehow get Tsuna's blood if he doesn't go back to how he was before. This is a suicide mission. None of you are trained for this sort of thing." explained Bianchi.

"I don't care." said Natsu. "Anyone who messes with my family, I'll take down with full force."

A laugh, long and mocking, sounded from the entire room. The three spun around away from the bed to look at Mukuro accusingly.

"Mukuro?" whispered Hayato, a confused tone to his voice. His arms dropped to his sides and he clenched them into fists. His shoulders spiked up, and the bombs previously in his hands dropped to the ground. His anger couldn't be hidden. "You'd better not be here to take advantage of Juudiame!"

Natsu stood, eyes dull, completely calm. He almost looked bored, but if one looked past that, it was clear that Natsu was annoyed at Mukuro's presence. He didn't tense up, despite the fact that back when the Varia battles happened Mukuro had stopped Natsu's chances of killing Tsuna and had threatened him. The two didn't mix well.

"What do you want? You said your technique to help Tsuna wouldn't work right now. I doubt you can help Reborn either." hissed Natsu.

"Kufufufu, he told me all about what he was," said Mukuro, stepping in front of Natsu. "I know what happened to Tsuna. So, naturally, I know how to heal him."

"What?" gasped Bianchi.

Bianchi's loud voice was what woke a sleeping Lal, who took one look at the situation, and said in an accusatory tone, "Maggots." After that, Lal, put her head back down on Reborn's chest, as any normal baby would do, and went back to sleep. Given the fact that Lal was only tall enough to reach just above Reborn's ankle when he was in his adult form, Lal was quite tiny compared to him, and thus used Reborn as a pillow.

Mukuro continued with a smirk at the Rain Arcobaleno, "While using Tsuna's blood would be ideal, since he is a direct descendant of Giotto, and because his Sky flames is pure, we cannot. Now, that isn't true, since he no longer has a dominant Sky flame, as it is being eaten by the Vindice's Night flames. You're next best choice, Vongola Decimo, would be to use your blood. Your flame _is _tainted, it will heal his wounds faster. Your problem would be Reborn waking up in a bloodthirsty state and if he does not, kufufufu, he would not be able to help defend you. You'd also lose much of your precious blood, Vongola."

"Che," Hayato spit out, scowling. "So the Vindice would be able to attack us, and Tsuna would likely notice Reborn being alive the moment Reborn woke up. And Reborn will be as dame as Tsuna used to be. He won't be able to protect us."

"We'll have to wait until the Representative Battle." said Bianchi.

"And leave him defenseless during the Inheritance ceremony," Hayato added. "while we almost die."

"And get Tsuna to come after me." Natsu said. "So I can basically hurt him in the worst way possible. While defenseless. And almost dead."

"You..." Lal lifted her head from Reborn's chest, where she had been sleeping. The three guardians and the Poison Scorpion looked at the failed Rain Arcobaleno. "You forget that the Ninth, his guardians, Iemitsu, Colonello and I are all here. Along with the Shimon. Us Arcobaleno have a lot of influence, even against the Vongola. If I were to call a meeting, all the Arcobaleno would have to come. Viper, Verde, Fon, and Skull – I could get them to watch Reborn while Colonello and I go to the ceremony as part of the ceremony. That way in case you fail, Colonello and I can help you, and the others can guard Reborn. We may be babies, but we were called the strongest for a reason."

"How do you propose we do that?" sneered Mukuro. "The Vongola would notice."

"Because," Lal snapped back. "No one will disturb an Arcobaleno gathering. And when I tell them Reborn is dying, they'll be sure to come. I'll blackmail Verde and Viper if I have to."

"So they'll keep him alive while we're getting our asses kicked. Great." drawled Natsu sarcastically. "Why do you support our stupid plan anyways, Lal?"

"I support you because you're stupid, but you're my stupid student. We haven't finished training yet. I have yet to fail a self-appointed mission, and I won't fail now. Call it a favor. You'll owe me though, Vongola Decimo."

"Does that mean you'll annoy the hell out of Iemitsu for me?" asked Natsu, perking up with a small smile on his face at the thought of torturing Iemitsu.

"Maybe." teased Lal. "However, they're already suspicious of you guys, me now included. With Reborn's disappearance and Tsuna's, and with you all being and acting suspicious along with an Arcobaleno meeting called, the Vongola can't get to everyone at once. Since I 'm closest to them, they'll ask me. I can't lie to Vongola Intuition, but I can skirt around the truth. It'll delay them long enough."

"It might work. Tsuna will hopefully stay away until I have a chance to have a go at him, and then when the Representative Battles start we have to get Yuni to tell us how to revive Reborn." said Natsu. "How _easy."_

"I'll call for the Arcobaleno." said Lal, taking Natsu's sarcasm for agreement.

"I'll get the Shimon and tell them to start the plans and almost murder us." Hayato told Natsu, sounding oddly pleased that they had actually made a plan, even if that plan ended with him getting hurt. "I'll get the other guardians too. They'll be ready for the attack by the Shimon and Tsuna."

"It'll be a split second, but if I can get his dying will to change from obeying Bermuda to 'run the fuck away from me' we'll be good." Natsu said. "Tsuna will be traumatized for a while, but it's better than having him kill Reborn and I."

"If...if this works out, the battle with the Vindice might be a lot easier." Bianchi chimed in, sounding hesitant. She placed a finger on her chin and frowned lightly. It was clear she still thought it all to be a suicide mission. Natsu didn't doubt that it was.

It was death that they were willing to greet if it meant getting things back to what they were like in _those_ days.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Dame-Tsuna. It was the name everyone called him. Natsuhiko "Natsu" Sawada-Akitoshi wanted to laugh, looking back on it.

Nan was a witch to Natsu, disappearing for days at a time (not that young Tsuna had noticed ruing that terrifying time period for him, too focused on Natsu's weekly beatings to care). Then, she'd come back. It was worse for Natsu than Tsuna when she came back.

Nana would call him 'Iemitsu-kun' every day, mistaking him for his bastard of a father. Perhaps, in the back of his mind, Natsu knew that it wasn't a mistake, that Nana truly wanted to believe that Natsu was his father, and so she did it purposely, but Natsu would never say that to anyone. That was weakness. If Nana wasn't in the kitchen, she was out, or in her room, contemplating shooting herself, Natsu knew. A house gun, one Nana held quite often up to her head while she cried. She hated her life, Natsu knew, and she hated them for being her children. If not for her responsibility over Natsu and his twin.

When he was eleven, he had seen Nana with that gun. He had been shocked. He was glad Tsuna hadn't seen the true Nana. Natsu had been distant from Nana since that day. She never spoke to him about it, and he never brought it up.

She ignored Tsuna.

Natsu had no idea why. He knew she hadn't hated his weak twin. She hated them both for giving her a guilty conscious about suicide. Why she ignored Tsuna, Natsu never did figure out. She also ignored how Natsu beat Tsuna all those years, and Natsu never found an answer to why. He never found an answer to _why _for many things that Nana had done.

Nobody but Natsu and Reborn knew what happened that week she gave Reborn everything she owned. She hadn't moved away.

Once she was certain Reborn could take care of Natsu and Tsuna, she had died.

Akitoshi Nana, the last name she had wished to be called by, had committed suicide.

Reborn had ordered Natsu to not tell Tsuna. he told Natsu he'd 'better become nice real soon' and he did. Under the pressure of Iemitsu being home, Nana's suicide, and failing to kill Tsuna because of Mukuro, he lost it.

Then, as if kami-sama had spoken from above, Tsuna tried to save Natsu like some sort of weak idiot. Like Kyoko. He claimed that he had killed Kyoko – that it was his fault – and Natsu lost it. He suddenly understood what Kyoko's last words meant, and the smile she gave that was just like Tsuna's, and Natsu hated it.

So Natsu decided Tsuna was his, since they were twins – brothers – so that he wouldn't die like Kyoko had. And that meant Tsuna would be brought back to his senses no matter what.

Of course, Iemitsu getting his had chopped off was only a bonus.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

The Vindice were impatient, waiting for the time Checkerface started the Arcobaleno Representative battles. Luce in particular was the only one moping around. She grieved for Reborn. She had tried her best to save him, but it wouldn't be enough. She knew that the Vongola Decimo and his gang knew about their plan, and about what they were up against, and yet they still thought they could win. They were stupid in Luce's mind.

Akitoshi-Sawada Natsuhiko was too flawed.

His resolve was a selfish one, and he would fall just as his twin had. Tsuna's chances of ever becoming normal again was close to nothing – at least, until he became more sane like her – until he found his Sky flame again.

Reborn was unlikely to wake up voluntarily with the spell she put on him to seal him. He wouldn't die, but he wouldn't live either. Now she just had to wait. Luce could resist it- the insanity, clawing at her mind, scrambling her ability to think – but she could not resist her other abilities. The insanity screamed _kill kill kill _like always. Luce kept a blank face, like always. If not, then Bermuda would know that she could resist, and then she truly would die.

Luce believed that she could save them. She had to, because if not, then Luce knew they'd die without help.

Luce didn't like death. She had been alive for a very long time, not as long as Reborn, but close enough. She had seen too much of it. Luce hated being a Vindice – trapped in a rotting body, unable to die, with a thirst for blood that was always there no matter what she did – so unlike the true immortality of a vampire with an ever-young body and eternal healthiness.

Along with her fate, Luce couldn't be there for her dear daughter, Aria. Aria, although human, was Luce's pride and joy. Luce's own mother, Sephira, had been killed by Bermuda, and she wished to tear him apart for it. She hadn't wanted for Aria to be without a mother just as Luce herself had. All because of Bermuda's interference yet again. It was the only reason the insanity of the Night flame hadn't brainwashed her completely – her hate for Bermuda overcame her hate for Checkerface.

Tsuna was a Sky, so like her, he could overcome it. However, with how his childhood had turned out, it was likely only Reborn or Natsu could snap him out of it, as they were his precious people. Otherwise he needed time, except that they, meaning those on Reborn's side and humanity's side, didn't have time for Tsuna to throw off his insanity.

Around the corner Tsuna glared at Luce. Luce knew he was there. She had been sitting at the entrance to the prison for days, and Tsuna hadn't made an effort to hide his presence either. Luce knew fully well why Tsuna followed her like a shadow – she had stolen his kill and he didn't like that. She had killed Reborn before Tsuna had, in only a day, while Tsuna had been trying for near a month.

Luce had a sinking suspicion that Tsuna wouldn't believe it until he saw Reborn's cold, dead, unmoving body, and that wasn't good for Luce if she wanted Reborn to survive.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Natsu tried to make a good act out of flinching when the ceiling blew apart, the people gathered started screaming, and the Ninth looked like he wanted to murder someone for yet again interrupting him while he was trying to do something (aka, handing the fake sin to Natsu).

The small vial that held the fake blood of the first Shimon boss shattered.

Natsu rolled to the side away from the dropped box and the Ninth as a piece of roof came a bit too close to him. Getting into a standing position, with his guardians gathered around him, Natsu looked up at the Shimon. Enma looked back, looking just as dangerous as any mafia boss would be. In his hands was the real sin.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we're going to be taking this now." said Enma. Beside him, Adel and the girl with the curse word as Hayato put it, for a name, shifted to stand at his side protectively. Enma held up the vial for all of them to see, for dramatic effect, and then turned his eyes to the Ninth gen, where Iemitsu stood, and narrowed his eyes. "It is for revenge that I do this, Vongola. I won't let you destroy any more families anymore. Your end of days has come. This is our treasure in the first place, not yours. I won't allow you to have my ancestor's blood just so you can pass it down generations claiming it as your treasure when it is _your_ mistake instead."

Satisfied, Enma powered up the Shimon rings, then pulled out the wicked dagger that Takeshi had found for him after a couple of minutes asking the Rain. Since Takeshi's father was a retired assassin, it was easy for them to find a dagger that could be used to stab Natsu with. With his left hand, Enma reached forward and the spinning wheels of ancient runes spun around his hand, and then the guardians were lifted off their feet and thrown rather viciously into one another and the walls around them.

Natsu bit his tongue as it happened, not pleased with having to put his guardians through the pain, but knew that it was necessary. Continuing his play of lies, Natsu reached out with his right hand and yelled, "Hayato! Takeshi! No!" he paused for a moment, urging tears to come into his eyes. "E-everyone! Th-they're..."

"Dead?" spoke Enma. The red head walked up to Natsu, and stopped a foot in front of him, holding the dagger tightly. If one looked closely, they'd be able to see the pale color that Enma's face held, clearly exerting his powers too soon after the rings had been upgraded. The words Enma spoke were meant to be mean, uncaring, and insulting towards Natsu. "Yes, they will be soon. Just as you will, Natsuhiko!"

Enma plunged the knife into Natsu's gut, just below his left ribcage.

Natsu gasped, the air sucked out of hit. The blonde hadn't been prepared for the amount of pain that the knife caused, and the way the flare and his heartbeat seemed to pulse in his ears was near unbearable. It had been like walking from a completely quiet room into a room full of screaming birds and magpies that dropped down from the heavens above to peck out his eyes.

Blood dropped to the ground in tiny spots for a few seconds as the blade was left in Natsu's gut. Enma bent forward, his head parallel to Natsu's, and whispered in his ear, "Sorry. I've done all that I can. It's your turn now, Natsu."

It was the end - the end that would lead to a new beginning.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**Next chapter is my favorite. Tsuna's coming and the canon of the Shimon arc is now completely screwed. I have a feeling you guys will like the next chapter as well, since some surprise guests will be showing up.**

**Any guesses on who they are?**

.

I would have written more for this chapter, but since next chapter needs to go all in one piece (and is a lot longer than this one) I couldn't combine them, so this one ended up pretty short.

. not edited

. reminder that i post when the next chapter will be up on my profile


	24. Vongola's Bosses are Badass

**Red**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

For a moment, Natsu fought hard against the pain in his gut to remember that this was all a plot planned out by himself. He fought hard to remember that Lal Mirch, his mentor, was there to help them if it came to the worst, and that soon Tsuna would arrive. Tsuna, the one who by all rights would feel the same sort of empty pain that Natsu felt the moment his guardians slammed into the walls and fell to the ground in a bloody mess of tangled limbs. Natsu knew that the Tsuna that would arrive would not truly be Tsuna, and that he shouldn't put himself under any illusion that Tsuna would be so enraptured by that empty sort of feeling that had put Natsu in the sort of dazed pain (besides the one from the stab wound) that Natsu had felt. No, Natsu thought, Tsuna wouldn't hesitate in killing him. The reason for that was because Tsuna was just like Natsu himself.

Natsu would not hesitate to kill Tsuna if it meant achieving his final goal. The same went for Tsuna. Tsuna would not hesitate to kill Natsu if it meant he got to achieve his final goal. They were twins, perfect parallels of one another, only their goals were far different from each-others.

Enma backed up with a few stumbled steps backward away from Natsu when the Ninth - being most irritated by the sarcastic comments and scathing sort of rude remarks Natsu had made through the evening and by the events that he had been interrupted yet again in the most formal ceremony known to the Vongola – swung a flame-covered hand at Enma. Enma's hands twitched upward of his own accord to defend himself as another wave of Sky flames came at him, and wisely backed up further.

The Shimon boss knew that they should not be enemies, and he had no intention of getting killed by the Ninth boss of the Vongola famiglia this early in the game. He knew that he'd most likely have to fight Tsuna soon as well, since in all rights their plan was a suicidal mission and there was no way in hell that Enma thought it would go according to plan.

Nothing that involved the Vongola Decimo's went according to plan nowadays.

The Ninth's guardians, who had previously been standing to the sides of the Ninth, had moved forward to attempt to assist Natsu, but the blonde haired boy pushed them away. Wearing a look of annoyance, Natsu stood, one hand holding the wound on his stomach, and nodded at the Ninth. His eyes showed his determination, his assurance that _yes, everything was alright _and that _no I will not die today _in them. Timoteo, glancing back at his heir, finally laid eyes on Enma, frowning.

His stance did not relax, nor his guard. However, Timoteo did not look to attack Enma again, and for that Enma was grateful for the fact that the Ninth respected Natsu's wishes, no matter how confusing they might be. Any other mafia boss would have proceeded to violently murder the one who dared hurt their heir, and certainly Timoteo had done that to the one's before whom had murdered his three sons. Natsu was a different matter. It relied solely on trust that Timoteo heeded Natsu's look of the clear warning to not attack Enma again, no matter what might be said.

"Enma?" spoke Natsu, his voice low. Blood flowed down from his mouth in small drops, but the Vongola heir made no move to wipe it away. Instead he locked eyes with Enma, and asked the question that was unvoiced.

_Where is Tsuna?_

With his abilities, Enma could sense every single person in the room. He could move them at a single thought if he so wished. He could manipulated gravity and space itself. He, having held the Shimon Earth ring for longer than he cared to remember while it was sealed, was far more attuned to the flames of Night than any other person in the room. The only one that likely surpassed his ability to sense Night flames was the hitman Reborn, and seeing as Reborn as not present or awake at that moment in time, and far away at the Chaos house, Enma was the next best person to tell where exactly Tsuna would show up.

It took only a few short nine or so seconds when Enma sensed the rising portal of space-distorted flames and swallowed down his nervousness, saying to Natsu over the shouting and screaming of the injured further back in the building, "There!" Enma pointed with his eyes to the spot that Tsuna stepped out of, just to the side of Natsu, ten feet away from the blonde, and only five away from Timoteo.

_Not Tsuna, _Natsu heard his Hyper Intuition hiss-growl-whisper all at the same time. _Never Tsuna. Don't trust it. Not Tsuna._

Natsu found himself nodding to the whisper. He was aware of it. The stupid Hyper Intuition that he had would never shut up about it. It also imitated voices of those long gone, and whether or not that was actually the ghosts of those people speaking to him or the ability he'd gotten from his ancestor Giotto, Natsu didn't care to find out. He was afraid of finding out whether the thing that imitated a voice so like Kyoko's and sometimes now, Yuni's voice, was real.

There was a long minute where Tsuna did nothing more than look around at the chaos that surrounded them. He looked at the guardians, brought up a hand over his heart, and grasped at the clothing that covered it. There was a small grimace on his face, and his lips were pressed into a thin line, and his eyes were looking down at the ground, at something that wasn't there, before he switched again, to look at Enma.

Enma stared back at Tsuna. Tsuna smirked, or at least, that was the closest thing the twisted smile Tsuna gave to him could be compared to, and then the brunet left Enma's sight.

Enma took a half step towards Natsu, only to stop himself. Any move threatening towards Tsuna and he'd get his head chopped off. So Enma stayed, watching with narrowed red eyes as Tsuna stood only two feet away from Natsu, glaring at him. They all knew any false move could trigger violent behavior. The guardians, the Shimon, Natsu – they all knew that this Tsuna was not Tsuna, and that if they wanted to do something to fix it all, they had to act.

"Tsuna." Natsu said.

There was something in that voice that grabbed everything close to Natsu and embraced it all. It was the voice that brought people together and broke them all the same. The Sky in Natsu tried to cry out to them all, and Enma and Tsuna could both sense it. For Enma, it was feather-light, and was comforting. For Tsuna, it was an insult.

"Natsu," replied Tsuna, with none of the element that a true Sky should have had. "how nice to see you, twin, stabbed and bleeding, without one person to help you. Natsu is all alone. He always is."

Regarding the way Tsuna spoke, Natsu grinned back at Tsuna, showing his teeth. He lifted his left hand (the one that he wasn't holding over his wound) and hooked his pointer finger, then put it out straight to point straight between Tsuna's two eyes. "Pity how weak, pathetic little dame-Tsuna couldn't protect himself, how he'd rather have a bullet between his own two eyes than suffer! Hahaha, dame-Tsuna! What a pathetic name! You're weak, dame-Tsuna! So weak you can't even resist the temptation of power just to kill your beloved _father! _Pity on the weak, pity on you – how 'bout we all just pity you, huh, dame-Tsuna? That way all those people you thought were your friends – Hibari, Mukuro, Chrome, Lambo, Reborn – how 'bout they all just die – all because you're too weak to save them!"

"Weak?" said Tsuna, a puzzled expression twisting his mouth into a frown and tilting his head sideways. He lifted a finger to his lips, pressing them together, and looked over Natsu. "No...no-no No! Me? Weak? _Non. _No, no, I'm not weak._"_

"No?" Natsu said, grinning widely. He took his right hand off his wound, wincing only slightly as the blood ran freely down his stomach, hip, and leeched into his clothes. He put his hand, palm out and splayed, in front of Tsuna's face, showing the blood that coated it like a trophy. "Then what do you call this? Eh, dame-Tsuna? You can protect no one. You can't do anything. You're weak. You're no good. Honestly Tsunayoshi, what do you think happened to Reborn? He's dead because of you. You couldn't save him. You just left him to die, like a weakling. You couldn't even kill him yourself. Someone else had to do it for you. He's no longer alive – I don't have anything I could gain from having helped that miserable man stay alive anyways!"

Tsuna didn't like Natsu. He had come to kill Natsu, not listen to his twin talk. Tsuna didn't like to be called weak, or dame, or anything, because far too many thoughts came up. Everything related to the word weak or no good or his name and everything was shattered as too many thoughts and words invaded his mind. Tsuna didn't like that, which meant Natsu had to go. So in one simple movement, Tsuna played his part of the bad guy.

It took a split second for Natsu to be thrown across the room and smash into one of the broken pieces of ceiling that had fallen on some unsuspecting spectators during the Shimon break-in. As Natsu spit out blood, with a look of disgust on his face, and saw Tsuna's eyes studying him, the corners of Natsu's mouth quirked upwards.

Tsuna's face contorted. He wasn't pleased with the amused Natsu. Throwing him across the room and having the blonde's wound aggravated wasn't supposed to cause amusement. Tsuna decided to respond in kind, and gave a mirthless laugh.

It was a game to them, one might have said, looking back on it. The twins played a game of fire and ashes, and whoever won reaped the spoils. The one who lost would have been burnt alive. There was no in between, which was why the thrill of the game and bitterness that coursed through the words that spread lies and hatred was truly well-spent.

Tsuna spent a second to adjust the shirt he was wearing so that it did not hang over his shoulders and press against his neck, and then leaned forward on his toes, and leapt forward. Natsu stood, squared his shoulders, made an act of stretching his arms far above his head to crack his joints, and exhaled. As Tsuna came closer, Natsu brought his arms down, yawned, and let Tsuna nearly run himself into a spike of ice that appeared four feet in front of Natsu.

Vexed, Tsuna sneered. "Why don't you face me instead of hiding behind your stupid ice?"

Natsu gave the entire room a rather unwarranted smile, "But then I'd die, wouldn't I?"

The Ninth gen (Timoteo, his guardians, and the CEDEF workers) looked positively baffled. One of their potential heirs (or double Vongola Decimo) showing supernatural strength and appearing out of thin air did not sit well with them. The impossible was shown to be possible; during their passing over a special object to the next gen, thus it being the Inheritance ceremony, no less. Iemitsu looked to have a bowed head, the color drained out of his face, and a sort of straight lipped expression, as if he had no intention of interfering because he was so out-of-sorts at the new development that had struck them all of what appeared to be, by all rights, Tsuna's betrayal and attack on the tenth generation boss.

Natsu jammed his hands into the pocket of his coat, and gave a half shrug with one shoulder as Tsuna stayed back out of the reach of his Zero Point Breakthrough.

"I hardly doubt that this needs such dramatized action, boys," said Timoteo's Storm, Coyote. "I'm sure you can resolve this...argument some other time – when we're not in the middle of the ceremony and the Shimon famiglia has not just knocked out your guardians."

"No, we planned this. They did as well. Natsu's guardians, I mean." said Enma, talking to the Ninth generation, walking forward towards the Ninth, but keeping a few feet back so that if he was attacked he could dodge. "This 'argument' as you call it isn't a childish fight. I'm really sorry about destroying the place and injuring all those people, but it was needed to get Tsuna's attention. The guardians knew to do that, they'd have to be injured, as did Natsu. We planned this; all of it. I agreed to help and look like the bad guy so that when Tsuna appeared, his attention wouldn't be on me since I'd be on the same side of 'hurt the Vongola'. It's worked so far."

Timoteo's eyes glinted in curiosity. "You are telling the truth, Shimon." he said. "However unbelievable it may seem, you _are _telling the truth. You wouldn't mind explaining, then, what exactly is going on here, and why my two heirs are attempting to murder one another?"

"I would," offered Enma. "but I can't afford to let my guard down. The moment Tsuna gets bored with Natsu, he'll try to kill him, and Natsu's too weak and can't react to Tsuna's speed fast enough to counter a killing blow. I have to make sure they succeed. Natsu may be an asshole, but he _does_ care about Tsuna and his guardians, possessively anyways. That sort of thing...I have nothing better to do than help him return Tsuna to his rightful self, so I will."

"Alright." said Timoteo. "I'll help fight Tsunayoshi-kun if you help. Fighting together is always a way to repair bonds and gain allies, isn't it Shimon-kun?"

Enma nodded. "Yes, although this time Tsuna is the enemy. Don't let him trick you into thinking differently. He is not the same person he was before."

"Ahh," hummed Timoteo, glancing over at the twins, who were at a stand-still. "I am still a wary old man. While it is only due to my Hyper Intuition that I know you are telling the truth, I hardly think that gives reason for me to be tricked by my grandson. I may be old but I am the boss for a reason. Don't think you can escape punishment for injuring the tenth generation's guardians just because you have made friends with Natsu."

"I don't."

"Good!" Timoteo replied, shooting a grin at Enma. "Then let's make sure Natsuhiko-kun doesn't end up dead, shall we? No more stabbing people, Shimon-kun."

Enma was slightly annoyed by the jovial way Timoteo called him his famiglia's name after threatening him, but held onto his pride and bit back the urge to tell the old man his name. He had nothing against the Vongola anymore, but he knew that giving his name would give the Vongola power over him, and right now, in the situation where Enma had just stabbed the Vongola heir and gravely injured the Vongola guardians, it wasn't something to hand out so carelessly.

The moment Enma looked away, the Ninth's guardians were moving in to intercept Tsuna. When the Ninth gen Mist guardian, Bouche, made to grab for Tsuna, they were most surprised when Tsuna easily short-warped away, behind Timoteo. The Ninth whirled around, unprepared for such a move that should have been impossible, but adapting fast, and struck.

Tsuna dodged, but stepped straight into the dagger Enma was holding, and ended up getting slashed across the upper arm just at the tip of his shoulder.

The orange and white coat that Tsuna wore ripped open to reveal the bandages that were wrapped around Tsuna's arms underneath the coat, and the pale skin that Tsuna had from his status of being most undead. Tsuna's curved lips of a smile faded and Tsuna's jaw tightened as he stepped to the right, away from Enma. As Enma pursued him, the brunet used his vampire speed to move away so that he was far away from both Enma, Enma's guardians (who were helping the Vongola guardians wake up so they could heal their wounds), the Ninth and his guardians, and Natsu.

Since the CEDEF officers were primarily paperwork filers and secondly fighters, they left the confusing fighting to the Ninth boss and most of them had disappeared to help the people injured in the debris of the fallen ceiling, and were far away from the battle. Only Iemitsu, Lal, and Colonello were left, and they weren't keen on fighting at the moment.

"Is Reborn truly dead, Lal? Is that why you called that meeting?" asked Iemitsu, finding his voice to speak. He stared out at the sight of the Ninth and his guardians and the Shimon boss preparing to fight Tsuna with sadness. "Why is Tsuna like that? Why didn't you tell us?!"

Lal didn't look happy. Beside her, Colonello shared her expression. While Colonello had been told that Reborn had been dying, and that he had needed to stay with Lal to watch over the Inheritance ceremony, he hadn't been told why. He hadn't been told that the attack they had been expecting was to be from Sawada Tsunayoshi, Iemitsu's own son. He would have felt betrayed, had it been anyone else than Lal who had told him to stay for the Inheritance ceremony instead of staying by Reborn in the Sun Arcobaleno's time of dying.

"I don't know the full extent to what happened between the time you were last in Japan and now, but something happened in the future that changed things. All I know is that Tsuna's aiming for both Reborn and Natsu's deaths, and that Reborn almost died because of him. The reason I called the Arcobaleno to meet was because Reborn is almost dead, and he's been put in a sort of coma. His wounds are healing, but very slowly. Had it been any other person, they'd be dead. In the event that Tsuna found out he was alive and went to attack Reborn during the ceremony, the other Arcobaleno would be there to watch him." Lal explained to the two next to her. "I don't doubt that Tsuna will kill Natsu if given the chance. After seeing Reborn missing an eye and having his leg chopped to bits, I'm about ready to believe anything at this point."

"You're not joking," said Iemitsu, bitterly. "are you?"

"No." said Lal, then added for extra effort to rekindle the mood, "Sorry."

"Tsuna!" shouted Natsu. The blonde had stood up and was no longer leaning on the pieces of debris he had landed in for support. The blonde ran after Tsuna, who had turned to look at his twin, curious at the added attention. When Tsuna saw who had shouted his name, he smiled.

"While I'm happy that you want to die, Natsu, I really don't want to face you all at once, so how about we make a deal?" said Tsuna. In less than a second, Lal had a hand far bigger than her own baby form's one, wrapped around her neck. Lal struggled momentarily, but when Tsuna had her lifted up in the air cradled against his chest and his hand squeezing tighter against her neck, it was quite hard to do anything more than stay still. "You surrender to me and I get to fulfill my wish, or you don't, and I kill Lal Mirch." Tsuna laughed. "How's that for fun, baka-Natsu!"

"Lal!" cried Colonello, leaping with his rifle at Tsuna. Tsuna easily moved away with his vampire speed, and as Colonello was in mid-leap, eyes going round as he realized Tsuna was no longer there, Tsuna moved his leg back and then threw it forward and kicked Colonello.

The Rain Arcobaleno flew across the room, and landed with a crack on the floor in the middle of the room. Colonello didn't move. To Lal, and Iemitsu, it was clear that the kick Tsuna had delivered to Colonello's chest and stomach was not a normal kick. When Colonello did not get back up, Lal screamed.

"You bastard!" snarled Lal, fighting with all her strength to get out of the brunet's hold. It didn't work, since Tsuna had strength far more powerful than any human's. "Let me go! Tsunayoshi!" quickly deciding that she was not going to escape Tsuna's grasp anytime soon, she spent her supposed last moments shouting, "Colonello! Dammit, get up you stupid maggot! I didn't train you to be a weak worm! Get up, dammit! Get up! Please, Colonello!"

Colonello did not rise.

Tsuna shook with laughter. "Your turn, twin! How many will die before you see that you can't win, I wonder! I can keep this up forever you know, and your mentor Lal is next!"

The Ninth generation was forced to back off, as was Natsu. They all didn't want Lal, one of the Arcobaleno, to die. Iemitsu, who was closest, slowly inched forward towards Tsuna and Lal, but when Tsuna's eyes locked with his in warning, he stopped. Tsuna leered at him for just a few seconds before his gaze searched out Natsu. Natsu was standing parallel to Enma, who gave Natsu some bandages that he had previously had wrapped around his arm for this very occasion. Natsu glared at Tsuna as he lifted his shirt and wrapped his wound tight with bandages so that he wouldn't have to worry about dying from blood loss so soon in the battle.

Luck was not on Tsuna's side. Chrome, who had been healed by the Shimon guardians, held her weapon in one hand and the Estraneo gun that Mukuro was so fond of in the other. Using illusions to vanish her wounds for the time being, Chrome shot off more than a few bullets in Tsuna's direction, and when she was able to get close, swung her trident at Tsuna's head without holding back. Lal was pulled along for the ride, and was nauseous enough by the time Tsuna had used his speed to dodge Chrome's weapon when the strikes got too close.

"Chrome," Tsuna hissed, annoyed. "how convenient – another person that's easy to murder!" Chrome whirled around when he teleported in back of her, but he was close; nearly pressed up against her; and his hand, burning with Night flames, slashed across her neck. "You're still wounded no matter how many illusions you use! You're too weak to fight me!" When Chrome's limbs flailed momentarily as she forgot how to breathe and panic overcame her, Tsuna kicked her in the spot where Enma's ability had smashed her into the ground and broken her hip, and sent her skidding across the floor and slamming into a nearby wall.

By the time Chrome had drawn on enough of Mukuro's Mist flames from their connection to mask her injuries so that she would not bleed to death, her white dress that's he wore was stained with blood at the upper half, making it look as if she had just walked out of a pig's slaughterhouse.

Chrome coughed, holding a hand over her mouth; dropping the gun, to try to regain her breath after having it cut off. She laid on her side, propped up against the wall, and did not move to battle Tsuna again. She was shaken after nearly dying in just a few seconds after trying to fight Tsuna. It was clear to her that she was no match, and Mukuro knew it too, because an illusion of him knelt by her side, frowning deeply and putting one hand on her shoulder while the other held her trident to guard her in case Tsuna decided to pursue her.

Tsuna was not interested, so he turned away from the two Mist guardians, and focused on Natsu again. He tightened his grip on Lal, cutting off her oxygen, and watched with glee as Lal began to convulse in his grip.

Enma leaped forward, seeing Tsuna planning to kill Lal. "No!" he yelled, and was the first person able to actually touch Tsuna. Using his power, Enma made sure Tsuna was stuck in his spot. He bowled Tsuna over, and in the process Lal was flung to the side as Tsuna lost his grip on her.

Tsuna slammed the heel of his foot into Enma's naval as Tsuna's back hit the floor, and Enma was pushed off to the side, gasping in pain. A rib broken for Enma and a sprained wrist, and Tsuna only had a bit of dirt on him to show it. Enma, angry, because this was not how it was supposed to go, and angry, because he had told Natsu that this was a bad plan and yet the stupid blonde hadn't listened, and angry because getting kicked with what felt like a cannonball in the gut didn't sit well with him; froze Tsuna with his Shimon ring's power.

A frustrated sound arose from Tsuna's lips as he realized he was being held in place. Acting out his part, Mukuro yelled at Enma as he threw the Shimon boss Chrome's trident. Enma caught it, flinching as he twisted his sprained wrist, and then thrust his arms forward and stabbed Tsuna. Tsuna didn't wait for another strike to come, for he forced his Night flames to swirl around him, and broke the spell holding him in place.

Enma barely had time to bring up the trident in front of him before Tsuna slammed his foot across the length of it and sent Enma crashing into Iemitsu, who was six feet behind him. The two landed in a heap on the ground, and Enma didn't get up; instead laying on the ground and groaning in pain as his ribs were shifted uncomfortably yet again and his head had his heartbeat in his skull, and the sounds and light around him had been amplified by said headache.

Natsu gnashed his teeth together, wanting to break something – preferably Tsuna. It was frustrating and irritating and exasperating and infuriating and vexing and irking all at once.

"_Call upon the ring, Natsuhiko."_

Yet again, the woman with the red eyes and short hair and white dress was in front of him, all transparent and ghost-like, with her sharp fangs and annoying perfectness. Natsu scowled at her, not understanding in the least what she meant, or why she had appeared now when Reborn was nowhere near them. Natsu knew for a fact she only appeared at Reborn's side, and the only time she spoke was when she hummed that little song that Yuni always sung about some stupid clam and rainbow. Natsu could care less about what the song meant; although it was interesting to him that this woman knew the same song Yuni did, since they looked like one another.

"_It will help you, stupid human. Listen to me." _she said, leaning forward in front of him. Her dress flowed out around her feet in wisps, becoming less than they were the closer they got to the ground. Natsu swiped a hand through her, insulted, but it did nothing.

"I don't know anything about the Vongola rings!" spat Natsu. "If you would at least explain what that even means like a normal person-!"

"_Fine. It looks like you're too stupid to figure out how to call upon your ancestors manually then, just as Reborn says." _she replied. _"I will do it for you, then, since I am connected to that ring as I was the one who gave it to Giotto in the first place. But you must succeed, you utterly stupid, foolish human. If you fail, that ring will destroy you."_

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu hurried her. "whatever! If it helps me make sure dame-Tsuna doesn't murder everyone then I'll do whatever it is you want me to do, Yuni-look-alike."

"_My name is Sephira, human."_

"And mine's Natsuhiko, ghost. Stop calling me stupid."

"_It's no wonder Reborn calls you that nickname, with your recklessness."_

That was the last thing Natsu heard before he passed out and his consciousness was sucked into the ring. Exactly one minute and twenty-seven seconds later, Natsu would wake up.

Since half a month earlier Tsuna had tossed his half of the ring back to Natsu, Natsu had the whole Sky piece of the Vongola ring, which meant it wasn't hard for Sephira to order Giotto to, "Help your descendant or have your ring smashed to pieces by me."

All in all, Giotto was the one that met Natsu when the boy dropped into the realm that the eight bosses of Vongola receded in. Daniela, the Eighth boss of the Vongola, and her father, Fabio, the Seventh, were at his sides, being the two most recent bosses. Natsu scowled at them.

"You already know my answer about inheriting the Vongola." said Natsu.

The last time Natsu had been called into the rings, it had been when future Hibari had brutally tried to kill him, since TYL Hibari did not like Natsuhiko in any way. That time, Natsu had refused to inherit the Vongola and he'd refused to go through the trial and everything else that should have happened that day. Giotto had not favored him since then, but couldn't do anything about it since it was true that a Vongola boss could refuse to have their trial until much later in life; Secondo had refused to take the trial right up until the moment his wife had been murdered and he'd been ruling for over ten years. It upgraded the ring, to a certain extent, or the wearer's abilities to use their Sky flame. For Natsu, at the time, he hadn't needed any new abilities, and so he had refused.

Natsu still held the same opinions, but he needed Giotto and the other boss' help if he wanted to defeat Tsuna and bring his twin back to his senses, so he planned to explain when Giotto fixed him with a hard stare.

"I don't know why Sephira allowed this, I had no intention of allowing you here again." said Giotto. "You have failed once; refused us. A boss does not get more than two tries. You are not ready."

"I know." said Natsu. "I refused to speak with you last time. This time is different. Those sins of yours – give them to me. Let me use those sins to destroy our enemies. I'm not like Tsuna; I know that you can't achieve peace with peace. I'll use those sins to protect what is rightfully mine, my family; Tsuna, Reborn, Lal, my guardians. They're mine, and I won't let anyone destroy them, especially not themselves."

"Would you destroy the Vongola as it is now?" asked Giotto.

"The Vongola is as greedy as I am." said Natsu. "With myself as leader, or if the current Tsuna became the boss, that would be opposite of what you are trying to achieve. You want the Vongola famiglia gone. I've heard the whole story from Reborn. You want a family, not a famiglia. I'm not that sort of person. I won't destroy your little famiglia just because you want me to, Primo."

"If that is true, then the Vongola is a threat to you, and your dying will, is it not?" inquired Giotto. "If something is as greedy as you, then it will steal what you desire most. So then, my famiglia, as you put it, would be a threat to you."

Natsu nodded, agreeing. "True."

Giotto dipped his head down in response, and Daniela and Fabio bowed. "Your will is true to mine, ever if our intentions and means of getting there are different." said Giotto. "I will allow you."

The black, dark around them disappeared. Then, a blue sky appeared, and a reflecting ground, that rippled like water. Natsu sniffed. Then, the bosses of previous generations appeared in two straight lines, with Giotto at the end. Natsu walked forward, as they all put their respective weapons forward in agreement, until he was in front of Vongola Primo. A certain calmness came over Natsu, and he let his muscles relax and his breath go. He let his arms remain at his sides when Giotto reached forward and put one hand on his head for a second or two.

"I have one question before you unseal my flame, since I'm assuming what you plan to do from what Reborn has told me about the Vongola." said Natsu. "Is there any way you can help Tsuna?"

"You are correct in your previous assumption that we, normally, would not accept either of you. You are flawed, and if not for Sephira's interference, I would not have spoken with you. However, Tsuna has broken. We, and the ring, would not accept him as the heir. If you give the ring to Tsuna; if he wears it on his finger, it would destroy him. Night flames are not meant to interact with the Trinisette. When we reject someone as heir, as was done with your Varia friend Xanxus, it forbids them from using the ring as a power source. When we reject someone as a full person in existence, reason, and mind from being heir, it destroys them."

"Then I shouldn't give the ring to Tsuna?"

"No," said Giotto, sounding resentful. "Never."

Then, exactly one minute and twenty-seven seconds later from the moment Natsu passed out, he woke up. Natsu woke up with a fully-transformed ring that gleaned with the colors of all the flames that his guardians held. If Natsu concentrated, he found he could light up each flame upon the ring's surface, not just his own Sky flame.

Natsu smiled.

He looked to find Tsuna, and found his twin punching Iemitsu in the face while Lal had Colonello's rifle and was persistently shooting bullets at him. Tsuna was laughing merrily, twirling away from the bullets and flames that came his direction, and then disappeared from view. He reappeared behind Iemitsu, and in one full roundhouse kick, sent the one-handed man towards the Ninth generation guardians who struggled to catch him.

Seeing his chance as Tsuna laughed at them all with his hands on his hips, Natsu ran forward. He guessed correctly in the assumption that Tsuna would not run from him, since Natsu knew the person Tsuna wanted to kill was Natsu himself. Tsuna raised one hand, most likely to either slap, punch, or throw Natsu some which way or another, so Natsu ducked under it.

Natsu ducked under Tsuna's arm and came to face his back. Natsu took one good jump and latched onto Tsuna, with one hand wrapped around Tsuna's neck in a chokehold, and the other pulling back Tsuna's raised arm and slipping the Vongola Sky ring on it. Tsuna didn't have any time to do much more than shake Natsu off before he felt the effects of the ring against his own flames.

Tsuna went stiff, and his pupils dilated.

The blonde dropped to the ground, coughing and holding his stab wound. The blood had slipped past the bandages wrapped around Natsu's middle and had flowed freely down Natsu's side, making Natsu dizzy. He didn't think he'd be able to move around easily or fight longer if things kept on getting worse. Natsu knew that luck was on their side when Tsuna froze.

What Natsu wasn't expecting was for Giotto to appear, floating, transparent, and much like the ghost Sephira was. Only, it seemed, they could all see Giotto. Behind him, Natsu heard the Ninth give a sort of choked, out-of-breath gasp, and Iemitsu looked ready to piss his pants; having recovered and had been attempting to sneak up on Tsuna from Natsu's right. The man had stopped when he'd seen Giotto. The others around the room shared similar reactions. Apparently Giotto in ghost form wasn't supposed to happen often, Natsu thought.

Giotto had a blank face as always. His eyes were different. Natsu was close enough to see the sort of spark in them. The flickering sorrow, anguish, and mourning shone in his eyes all at once.

"_We reject you."_

Bright, blinding, burning, fiery, glowing, scorching-hot Sky flames consumed Tsuna. It ripped and tore at his skin. It bite like a dog and ravished what it could take. It was searing, blistering, sizzling, smoldering – there were too many words that Natsu could have described it as. The one thing that Natsu was sure of was that the scene was atrocious. It was horrid and ghastly. It was like flames from hell.

It was the flames of all previous eight bosses burning away at an unsound heir.

Natsu didn't know what he expected when he slipped the ring on Tsuna's finger only seconds ago, but it wasn't that. Tsuna roared in rage, and in a split second Natsu found himself looking in the face of a vile evil itself. Flames burnt away at Tsuna – no, Natsu saw, it burned black-black-black Night flames. It wasn't just eating the flames, it was _devouring _the Night flames.

Natsu could see Tsuna's face through Giotto's form. It was something that made him queasy and restless. He didn't want to see Tsuna like that. It was worse when Tsuna tried to lunge and grab for Giotto as the Sky flames engulfed his body, and failed. Giotto looked down at Tsuna in what must have been pity – it had to pity. Natsu knew that if what he was feeling was anything, then it must have been pity, and Natsu knew that if he felt such a weak emotion, then certainly Giotto must feel it too.

Tsuna collapsed to the ground, screaming.

He was two feet away from Natsu. Lal, who snuck up from behind Natsu, leaned on Natsu's arm. She looked sick. Natsu stared at Tsuna and at the wrath of the Vongola itself and at the sins he had accepted all at once.

In his last moment of consciousness, Tsuna, while screaming in pain and misery, lifted himself up. Tsuna grabbed onto Natsu's pant leg, dragged himself forward and then forward again, until he was practically in Natsu's lap, his legs and feet and arms and chest and stomach and hair burning. Tsuna came up to eye-level with Natsu, eyes flared up in rage and a fever that was the fault of Night flames, and wrapped his hands lightly around Natsu's neck in an imitation of strangling Natsu – and passed out.

Tsuna was back - at Natsu's feet, half his body sprawled across Natsu's legs, with remnants of Sky flame flickering across his body. However, to Natsu it didn't matter how much pain Tsuna had gone through, who was dead and who was alive, who had been injured and who hadn't, what mattered was that Tsuna was back. The true Tsuna. His Tsuna. The Night flames were gone, eradicated from his body, since they had been his primary flame. That meant that when Tsuna awoke, he would be Tsuna.

Tsuna had returned.

Giotto bowed to Natsu, and then was not there anymore, having gone back to his place inside the Vongola Sky ring. Natsu felt drunk on joy. He felt like crying. He felt like raising his arms up and yelling for the world to know that he had succeeded, that his utterly outlandish plan had succeeded.

"We're alive." said Natsu, then in a sort of happy, joyful, laughing, gleeful manner, "We're _alive_."

Tsuna said nothing. Natsu didn't expect anything from his twin, since it would be logical to assume that Tsuna would be unconscious for the next few days, but Natsu didn't mind. Natsu only cared that Tsuna was back, and that there would no longer be any Reborn to interfere, for as long as the pesky hitman would be in a coma.

In his ear, the whisper of Sephira told Natsu, _"Well done."_

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O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

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**Care to leave a review to how this chapter went? I tried to do my best writing the fight scenes but...I don't have much practice so sometimes they turn out bad. Also please point out any glaringly obvious spelling mistakes if you find them - I tried to edit this as best I can but sometimes with big chapters like this, stuff slips past.**

**. **So did you guys like the chapter? I think this one might be my favorite so far, but that's just me.

. reminder that updates of when the next chapter will be out is on my profile


	25. May I Have This Watch?

**Red**

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

It had been a week since the Inheritance-yet-not-really-day. Tsuna had woken up to first see Mukuro, hovering over his bed. Beside Tsuna's bed, in the chair next to his bed, was Natsu, who blinked once at Tsuna's open eyes and grinned.

Natsu's stab wound had healed quickly, with the help of Ryohei's flames. Mukuro had watched over Tsuna the entire week, claiming that on the off-chance that Tsuna wasn't fully healed from the influence of the Night flames, he would be the only one who could at least fight Tsuna at full strength. Seeing as the rest of the guardians were still in their hospital beds recovering from getting smashed into the walls by Enma and the Shimon's power.

It had become clear on the second day of Tsuna's coma that he started to breathe, and his skin had color to it again. His skin and cells healed themselves of the cuts. Tsuna was alive again, instead of a soul in a dead body. That being seen, Tsuna wasn't fully human. He would need blood to survive. Just like Reborn, they all knew Tsuna would be able to function normally and eat normal human food. Tsuna's eyes, however, were stuck in a permanent Hyper Dying Will Mode orange; likely an aftereffect of all the Sky flames that had taken away the Night flame.

"Hey," mumbled Tsuna, seeing his twin and Mist.

"Don't ever do something to stupid and sacrificial again, Tsunayoshi." ordered Mukuro, scowling. "I will not have my Sky doing that for someone else again. When Reborn wakes, I'll put him under my best illusions as compensation for allowing you to give yourself up to the Vindice."

"Sorry, I guess I was being stupid. But...it saved us, didn't it? Reborn isn't...he's not dead, is he? I remember everything, but it was like watching what I was doing through a glass wall." Tsuna said, frowning. He sat up in the hospital bed, wincing slightly. "I was able to influence my other self a bit. Reborn knew that too, and so he tried to help."

"As he always does." said Natsu, standing up. Tsuna looked over to the other side of the bed as Natsu approached. "Your other self thought Reborn was dead. How do you know he's alive?"

"I can sense him," murmured Tsuna. "l-like I can Chrome, and you, and the other guardians. It's not that g-good. I can't sense when he's hurt, or emotional, but I can sense that he's not dead, a-at least. P-plus I can smell his scent on your clothes. You've both visited him recently."

"Vampire abilities, kufufufufufu." chuckled Mukuro, sounding amused.

"Are the others okay?" asked Tsuna, ignoring Mukuro.

Natsu scowled, not pleased with Tsuna's first worry being over if their guardians were alive or not. "They're alive, and healing. Chrome is the only one still required to stay in her bed at all times. Because she chose to fight you with her injuries only covered by some meager illusions. She'll be up and walking in a day or two, knowing that you're awake now."

Tsuna smiled.

At the Chaos house, in Tsuna's room, lay Reborn. The Sun Arcobaleno was surrounded by the other Arcobaleno, who watched Lal curiously as she walked in with Timoteo and Iemitsu in tow. Basil walked in just after them, with a tray of food and drinks, offering them to the Arcobaleno. Basil was the one who had offered to take over the Chaos house while Natsu and Tsuna and all the rest of the guardians were out of commission and couldn't. Basil was also the one who had to take care of all the rowdy Arcobaleno while they watched over Reborn after the battle was done in that week Natsu and Tsuna were out of the house.

Somehow, Basil had retained his sanity.

Bianchi had gone and left the house after the second day, not able to handle the Arcobaleno's violent disagreements. Now, she had returned to help the Ninth and his advisor, in their questions about what had gone on. Most had been explained after Tsuna had passed out, and about their plan that Natsuhiko Sawada and Enma had come up with. While the Ninth gen had not been pleased with this, they allowed the whole event to pass by without punishment.

"This is Reborn?" asked Timoteo, sounding stuck between shock and disbelief. "He has been like this since before we arrived here?"

"Yes." said Lal. "I learned when I first arrived. However, there is something I neglected to tell all of you – Verde, listen! Stop writing down everything I say on a clipboard!"

"So," Lal continued. "Reborn's a vampire."

Verde immediately paused and looked up from his clipboard. The other Arcobaleno, who had already been watching and listening to Lal closely, showed various looks of either surprise or suspicion. Iemitsu and Timoteo, who had already seen the odd things that had happened to Tsuna, weren't shaken by the new announcement. Although it was clear that they were not expecting to hear that.

"We don't know exactly what happened, but I'll tell you what caused this." Bianchi chimed in, stepping into the room and sitting down cross-legged beside Lal. She sat across from Timoteo, with her hands placed over one another. "You know about Tsuna, so that will make this a lot shorter. When the two went to the future, Tsuna took Yuni and went to the Vindice. Sometime during that time, Tsuna was turned into a vampire by either Yuni or Reborn, who chased after Tsuna, and then became a Vindice. After this, Tsuna was hell-bent on killing Reborn, and so we suspect that Reborn did exactly that. He 'died' and tricked Tsuna. We don't know exactly how he got all these injuries – it wasn't from Tsuna. Somebody helped him. He was carried into the room; there was no blood on the doorknob or walls to show that Reborn walked in here. So it was likely that somebody put him in this coma-like state to help heal his wounds so they wouldn't kill him and make sure that Tsuna wouldn't know Reborn was alive."

"We're hoping that Tsuna will tell us who this person might be when he wakes up." added Lal.

"I will be running some tests on Reborn to see how his body is responding to this." stated Verde, clearly meaning for no one to interrupt him while doing so. The part unsaid was that Verde would also probably use Reborn's blood and cells to do some tests on things to see how it reacted with other chemicals. "I will stay for awhile longer."

Colonello, Fon, and Skull all exchanged doubtful glances with one another. Mammon scoffed at the idea.

It didn't take long for Verde to take a look over Reborn's healing wounds to figure out that it was Reborn's own flames that were healing him, albeit slowly, while he slept. That much Bianchi and Hayato had already found out, although the reason they didn't know. Verde explained that it was the natural response to any wound a Sun element got to heal it, even unconsciously.

"If his flames are active in this state, then it would be reflected in his pacifier." said Verde. "Our flames are mirrored in the pacifier. Where is Reborn's? It's not hanging around his neck like it is in his baby form, and I _doubt_ he would have dropped it anywhere. Whatever put him in this state wasn't any physical wound, since those are healing, and it isn't poison."

"Here," offered Skull, digging out the pacifier from underneath Reborn's fedora. He went to toss it to Verde, but then paused, eyes going wide at what the pacifier looked like. Instead of having the gleam of Sun flames in it, it was infested with blackness.

Lal gasped. "That looks like-!"

"Night flames." A new voice from the doorway answered. Natsu strode into the room, skillfully ignoring the Ninth and his one-handed father. Behind him was Tsuna, who smiled weakly at the group, feeling just a bit guilty about what he'd done to them all. "He was sealed with Night flames."

"Night flames?" Verde inquired.

"The Vindice's flames." answered Natsu. "I would know them anywhere after seeing them getting burned away by the former Vongola boss' flames."

"But if a Vindice did t-this to Reborn...why would they help him? A-aren't they trying to kill him?" asked Skull.

"It wasn't me." said Tsuna, looking unhappy. His lips were pursed together and he had his arms tight by his sides, locked in place. His whole stance was tense. "And I can only think of one person who would help Reborn. If she helped him, then it's likely she's either deceiving Bermuda and secretly helping us, or she's already been caught and she's dead or worse."

"She?"

Tsuna didn't say anything. He knew the other Arcobaleno – the Vongola as well – had no idea about Luce being alive. If he revealed it, that wouldn't get the best reaction. It wasn't his to reveal in the first place – it was Reborn's place to reveal Luce being alive. He was the one who had known where she was in the first place, and what had happened to her. Tsuna wasn't close to Luce, not like he was to Reborn. If Luce hadn't told the Arcobaleno after all those years, there was likely a reason for it. Luce had so much free time – Tsuna knew because he too had free time to wander around and do whatever he wanted while part of the Vindice. Luce could have gone to them at any time behind Bermuda's back. Unless he had ordered her not to, but that was unlikely, since Luce would have probably argued with him about it. It was painful being away from his elements, and Tsuna couldn't imagine being away from them as long as Luce had.

"It is not my place to tell you, really. Reborn can, if we can wake him up."

Timoteo spoke up at this point in time. "Tsunayoshi-kun, you are aware that you can no longer inherit the title of Vongola Decimo any longer, now that you have been rejected?"

"I know." said Tsuna softly. "I'm fine with it, and I talked about it with Natsu before we got here. We both agree that the only way to get me back to normal was to do that, and so it's fine. If that's the price I have to pay for saving Reborn, then so be it. Only I guess that didn't go so well after all, since he's in a coma now." Tsuna laughed, uncertain of himself. "I'm really dame, aren't I? I can't do anything right. I nearly killed you all and...I'm not even human anymore either."

"I don't care if you're a vampire or human. You're still family." said Natsu. The unspoken words that only Tsuna could hear of _you're mine _ringing through his Hyper Intuition, but he only winced. He didn't pull away when Natsu wrapped an arm around his waist most possessively.

Tsuna wasn't comfortable with Natsu, but after having that rush of power over Natsu, after feeling alive while he was possessed by those Night flames, he realized that he wasn't as weak as he thought. Tsuna realized that he could stand up for himself and not get hurt, that while Natsu told him he was weak and an idiot and dame, he was only that as long as he thought he was. Tsuna knew that he could and would be himself, and that alone was enough. He would no longer bow down to Natsu. He would listen to Natsu, and he would try not to linger too long around Natsu, but that was it. He would no longer obey Natsu, he would no longer be afraid of Natsu, because that was only just it. Natsu was only Natsu. Natsu was only one person out of the entire world of millions of people. Natsu could hurt him, but only if Tsuna let him – and that was what mattered. It would only happen if Tsuna let it happen, and so Tsuna wouldn't let that happen.

Tsuna's Hyper Intuition was no longer a voice, which Tsuna was glad for. It was creepy anymore, and had instead gone back to the low, hungry-like rumble of trains and airplanes passing by that it always was, along with the occasional screaming sounds when something got particularly dangerous.

Tsuna raised one hand, and lit up his sky flame on it. It was bright orange, with no taint to it. Giotto and Daniela and all the other Vongola bosses had burned away everything wrong and evil. There was nothing more that could harm Tsuna.

"The other candidates that the ring rejected died because they were alive. I'm not alive, and I wasn't when the ring rejected me. My heart beats and I can breathe, but if I don't force that to happen, and concentrate on it, that stops. My organs function just like Reborn's do, and my heart. When I was a Vindice, that all stopped. My body just died. So when the ring rejected me, I was already dead, so it couldn't do anything more, so it attacked the part of me that it deemed unworthy, and that was the curse of Bermuda's Night flames. It's only thanks to those Night flames that I survived."

Colonello pitched in before anyone could say anything. "Is being a vampire fun, kora?"

Tsuna stifled a laugh, putting a hand over his mouth. "It's different. I can smell much better, I can see farther, I can run faster than you can see if I wanted to, and if I wanted I could punch a hole through the wall, or jump three stories up using my strength to get to high places. I can hear everything said in this room, every whisper, I can hear you breathing. I guess that answers your question."

Colonello grinned. "That's brilliant! That explains why Reborn's so good at sneaking up on all of us and eavesdropping!"

Natsu, who had been silent with his eyes closed for a few minutes, thinking, finally spoke up. "Tsuna, it was Luce, wasn't it?"

"W-what?" stammered Tsuna, eyes widening.

"Yuni was a vampire. She bit me, that girl. I remember her clearly, since she reminded me of Kyoko. She annoyed me too, but one thing I do remember is that she was a vampire. That means her mother, Aria, must have been one, and Luce as well. The only person I could think that would have known Reborn was a vampire, and that he would have survived those injuries anyways if he was allowed time to heal them is Luce, since she was his Sky. The Arcobaleno said that Luce just vanished one day, and that sounded suspicious. Nobody ever said she died. Sephira didn't say that, and I'm pretty sure if Luce was dead, I'd have seen her wandering around Reborn at night – so that means she's alive. The only place she could have gone where the strongest seven wouldn't have found her would have been Vendicare."

Tsuna blinked. He was speechless. Natsu wasn't supposed to know that – and where, Tsuna wondered, did Natsu hear the name Sephira, or know about her?

"What are you talking about?" asked Tsuna.

"My Hyper Intuition isn't like yours." said Natsu, thinking it to be simple. "If Yuni was a vampire, then the others must have lived a long time. Sephira was the first Sky Arcobaleno, apparently, or something like that, so I figured that Luce was her daughter. Sephira hangs around Reborn at night – I'm not sure if it's because her soul is connected to the pacifier's like Giotto's is to the rings or not, but she shows up occasionally. I thought that if Luce was dead, she'd be like that too. The only reason I was able to speak with Giotto was because Sephira used that connection with the pacifiers to show up in front of me. I think I was the only one who saw her is because I had both pieces of the Vongola Sky ring on my finger, so I had the other Sky piece of the Trinisette."

"So the only one that could have helped Reborn was Luce." concluded Natsu.

"Yuni was a vampire?" one of the Arcobaleno questioned.

Natsu nodded, and then pinned Tsuna down with a look. "So? Was it Luce?"

"Yes." said Tsuna, sighing guiltily. "Luce is alive. She's the one that would have helped Reborn, if anyone."

"Luce is alive?!" Lal gasped. The other Arcobaleno were in shock and demanding to be answered. They hadn't known Luce was alive – and were reasonably pissed that Reborn hadn't told them, since it was clear he knew everything about the Vindice and was the one that had hid Luce away when she had been 'sick'.

"Really, this is all more than that. Luce is alive because she was a vampire, and her mother was. Reborn was turned into a vampire n-nearly six hundred years ago. The only reason he became an Arcobaleno was because of the Vindice. When he took me in, he taught me how to fight, and what he knew. Your generation isn't going to die off and then have another fated day. You're going to have what's called a Representative battle, where Checkerface, the Man in the Iron Hat, comes to you and gives you watches. Each of you will pick representatives to fight for you, and whoever wins that group is picked as the next Arcobaleno. Your pacifiers are then taken away, and you die. Whatever Checkerface promises you if you win is fake. Luce knew that too. She's going to have to fight for Bermuda when that day comes. That's why Reborn wanted to not tell you. He doesn't want you to fight her, I think. He was upset when I took his place to become a Vindice instead of him, too. But my other self didn't care."

"That is a lot to believe, Vongola." said Mammon.

"I know, but the proof is right there." Tsuna jerked his chin towards Reborn's sleeping form. "He's alive when he should be dead. The Night flames are in his pacifier, which holds his life force. A-and I guess Natsu knows too, about Yuni."

"So basically this is all Reborn's fault?" said Verde.

Tsuna bit his lip, and said nothing. Reborn had hid it from them, as had Luce, their own sky. It was as much of a betrayal as anything. Especially about hiding that Luce was alive – undead – but still alive.

"If the Vindice are our enemy now, and this battle is coming up, how do you suppose we go about it? We could fight one another, but it's pointless if we're all going to die anyways." Lal said. "Plus Reborn's out of commission. Would your blood wake him up, Tsuna? Apparently baka-Natsu thinks you're _special_."

The brunet gave a small sound of surprise at that, but then answered, "No. I'm a vampire now. Even if I used my blood, which has no disease or anything infecting it because of my Sky flame, which burns away everything bad, my blood holds the same virus that Reborn's does. It wouldn't help. As Reborn put it, I think he mentioned getting drunk after drinking another vampire's blood, so I don't think that having him drink my blood just to see what would happen would be a good thing either."

"So then there really is no way to wake him?" asked Timoteo, sounding resigned.

"Not until his body wakes itself. His eye and leg still isn't healed. His eye is still just a gaping socket. His leg still had three inch deep cuts." said Natsu. "It would take months for them to heal at the pace its going. We don't have that time."

"Actually, young Vongola, I may have a solution for that."

The newcomer who had come in through the window in Tsuna's room was nothing short of a very old man with a cloth covering his eyes and a weird assortment of supplies and knickknacks hanging from his belongings. The Ninth instinctively grabbed the handless arm of Iemitsu and shoved the man behind him, and then raised his chin high and glared at the newcomer.

"Talbot, I will not give you Iemitsu's blood, for the last time!" growled Timoteo in short bursts of Italian. "Stop harassing my advisor!"

Bianchi barely stopped herself from laughing at the two. Iemitsu looked to pale and shrink behind his boss, effectively both quivering and also looking quite mad. Apparently harassing was not the greatest term to describe how much this new person came about Iemitsu's personal space.

"Huh?" muttered Natsu, facing Talbot.

Talbot pulled out a vial from his cloak and handed it to the Arcobaleno gathered on the bed, a few of whom were sprawled out across Reborn's chest at the moment. Skull moved to pick it up first, but Colonello kicked him away saying he was too clumsy to pick up something to important. Lal threw them both away when Colonello almost stepped on the vial and spat at them angrily. Finally, Mammon picked it up off the bed sheets and sniffed at it, and then frowned. He glanced over at Verde, but the baby was stuck with his head behind his clipboard writing down information again.

"This is blood." muttered Mammon.

Natsu glared suspiciously at Talbot. "Why do you have blood that can help Reborn is your pocket?"

Talbot smiled at Natsu, and said nothing to him, and instead said to the Arcobaleno for all of them to hear, "That is Ieyasu Sawada's blood, or as you would know him as, Giotto Vongola's. Giotto was a servant of sorts to Reborn, they had a contract. Giotto drank Reborn's blood in return for gaining the power you know as the famed Vongola's Hyper Intuition, and Reborn drank Giotto's blood in return. That blood should be more than enough to wake that old vampire up."

Timoteo narrowed his eyes at Talbot. "_Why _do you have our founder's blood in your cloak?"

"That's what I said." said Natsu, glaring at the Ninth.

"I have worked for the Vongola for generations. I have encountered Reborn more than enough times, and I owe him a favor. This way I will no longer be in debt. That blood is Penalty, just as Cozarto Shimon's blood is named Sin." said Talbot. "Pour that blood down his throat and he should wake up in seconds."

"Ew." Tsuna turned away from Talbot, and backed away from the bed. Mammon dropped the vial, face scrunching up, and threw it at Colonello, who tripped over Skull to catch it.

Colonello pulled the top off the vial and then hopped onto the fedora beside Reborn's head, and then tipped the vial over. The blood dropped out of it into Reborn's mouth. Once that was gone, Colonello hopped down off the fedora and threw the vial back at Talbot, who caught it with one hand and slipped it back into his cloak.

Reborn's eyes shot open, his body jerked up, and his hands formed into claws as he panicked and grabbed the sheets. Reborn's onyx eyes turned red and he very clearly screamed as the eye he was missing the his leg that was torn to pieces healed in seconds. After a short minute, Reborn's tensed body relaxed, and he breathed out in long breaths.

"What the _fuck _did you just do?" demanded Reborn.

"Nothing." said Talbot merrily.

"_Andare morire." _snarled Reborn. "Feeding me a dead person's blood whose blood I haven't drank in more than a century isn't completely painless, you old bastard!"

Reborn tried to push himself up with his arms, but they shook with weakness. Colonello barely managed to jump away when Reborn collapsed back down. The Arcobaleno said nothing, since they had nothing to say that wasn't insulting. They weren't used to seeing the Sun Arcobaleno and number one hitman so injured or weak.

Tsuna rushed over to help Reborn. He put a hand on Reborn's back, and another on his shoulder, and lifted Reborn up so that he was sitting with his legs out in front of him. He leaned Reborn against the wall, and Reborn let him. Reborn didn't meet Tsuna's gaze, and Tsuna, guilty and feeling tears come to his eyes, quickly excused himself from the room and ran out while he still had his dignity.

The blond twin scowled at Tsuna as he left. Natsu crossed his arms, shot a glare at Reborn, and then went after Tsuna; likely to herd him back into the room since he didn't want Reborn and Tsuna to be hissing and having tantrums all over the place when the Arcobaleno and Vongola Ninth gen left.

"That's creepy." commented Lal upon seeing Reborn's red eyes.

"Side-effect." Reborn said, eyeing the Arcobaleno sitting on him, and the Ninth and his advisor. "So, I suppose this means they told you?"

"Yes." said the Ninth.

"About the battle with picking our representatives too, and about the Vindice." added Lal. "Tsuna kicked our asses until Natsu managed to get the Vongola Sky ring on him so it would reject him. If it wasn't for that, I would've died. The guardians are still healing."

"Aa." Reborn made a affirming sound, nodding. He grabbed his fedora and put it on his head, and then focused on his eyes so that they would fade to black. "I'll get Tsuna to tell me all about it when I question him next.

"We'll be taking our leave now." said Timoteo, pushing Iemitsu out the doorway in front of him and turning back to the Arcobaleno. "If Natsu dies, there will be hell to pay, Reborn. I'm trusting you to keep him alive _and _able to inherit."

"Yes, yes," chirped Reborn, waving a hand at him. "Go, now."

Timoteo dragged Iemitsu down the stairs and out the door with little complaints, and the two were gone within the next two minutes. Bianchi looked at Reborn with a doubtful look.

"Are you really alright, Reborn?" asked Bianchi.

Reborn looked at her, but didn't turn his head. "I will be fine, Bianchi." he said. "Nothing a few drops of Mukuro's blood can't solve." He grinned at this, sounding pleased at the idea of causing someone else pain. "I won't go crazy and drink your blood if that is what you think. While it has been a long time, Giotto's blood is far more powerful than Tsuna's. I can last longer with that. However," Reborn raised his voice threateningly. "I do not like it when you interfere with my affairs, Talbot."

"Message received." Talbot bowed to Reborn, smiling, and hopped back out the window and into the unknown.

Just as the old man was out the window, Tsuna was thrown back into the room by Natsu. Natsu then took one step into the room, grabbed the door handle, and slammed it shut behind Tsuna so that he couldn't escape. Reborn's lips quirked upwards in an ear-to-ear grin that was threatening to emerge.

"Tsuna."

Tsuna jumped, turning around to face Reborn.

At the affection of mentor-fatherly-unReborn in Reborn's voice the Arcobaleno ran over Reborn's legs and each fled the room in a quick and unorderly fashion. They had no wish to see Reborn either punch Tsuna, or hug him, since they all knew that would be the final straw and completely destroy their view of who Reborn was supposed to be.

"Y-yes?" Tsuna asked, swallowing nervously.

Tsuna stood a good five feet away from the bed, completely still. He didn't breathe or twitch a finger. He was deathly afraid of moving, afraid of what Reborn would do to him after Tsuna had gone and betrayed him, had treated him so horribly, just in his effort to save him.

"Come here." ordered Reborn. Slowly, Tsuna approached, step by step. Then, he squeaked in surprise when Reborn placed a hand on his head and bent forward and put his forehead to Tsuna's. Tsuna froze, not sure of what to do, not expecting this. Reborn smiled. "Tsuna, thank you."

"I-I-what-," Tsuna put his hands out and pushed away with minimal effort, trying not to damage Reborn's newly healed leg. He stumbled one step back, and stood up straighter, looking at Reborn. Reborn held his gaze. Tsuna sniffed, then choked back a small sob, and then pitched forward and hugged Reborn around his middle. Tsuna held on tightly, clasping his hands together behind Reborn's back, and buried his head in Reborn's chest.

Reborn blinked rapidly and then tilted his head down to look at the crying Tsuna. His smile widened.

"R-Reborn!" cried Tsuna. "I'm s-so sorry!"

Reborn patted Tsuna on his head and let Tsuna latch onto him. He wasn't good at comforting people, so he stayed silent. Reborn didn't have anything to say to Tsuna other than what he had already said, and he knew Tsuna needed this.

Content, the two stayed like that for the time it took for Natsu to get suspicious at their absence and slam the door open with one foot, scowling at them.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

At the hospital, all the guardians had gathered together in Hibari's room (at the skylark's annoyance) at Tsuna's beck and call. Once they were all settled, with Hibari pretending to sleep, Mukuro and Chrome sprawled over one another like cats, and the others sitting on the mini couch and chairs spread throughout the room, Tsuna decided to speak up.

"I would like to apologize to you all, for what you had to go through for me. I forgot that I had you to rely on, and I'm sorry for not trusting you to help me with Reborn's Vindice problem." He bowed his head. "You're my elements. I knew that when I was a Vindice, and I could sense your injuries and your pain. I'm happy that you all did that for me, so thank you."

"Haha, I'm glad our plan worked." said Takeshi, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't think it would."

"Have faith in Juudiame, baseball-freak!" barked out Hayato. Then to Tsuna, "Thank you Decimo for having faith in us!"

Hibari muttered, "You were an annoying herbivore when those flames had you. I don't like herbivores."

Tsuna smiled at them all.

Behind the closed hospital door, Natsu listened. As their guardians started their usual bickering and Tsuna laughed as they did so, he opened one eye to look at Reborn, who stood waiting for him at the other end of the hall. Reborn jerked his head in his direction, and Natsu followed him down the stairwell until they were far away from the room with Tsuna and the guardians.

"What are you going to do now, baka-Natsu?" It was clearly a question Natsu wasn't meant to answer, so the blond stayed quiet until Reborn continued. Reborn had his hands in his pockets, and was slouched, looking far from dangerous. That made Natsu suspicious.

"Would you fight for me as my representative, Natsuhiko Akitoshi? I know that this has nothing to do with Tsuna, and that it won't benefit you, but you of all people should know what will happen to Tsuna if he is my representative. He'll insist to be it."

Natsu inclined his head. "You think that I'll scare him off from having the boss watch if I wear it. Fine. But only for Tsuna, stupid hitman."

Reborn smiled, and then patted Natsu on the head, petting one like one would pet a dog. Natsu swiped at Reborn's hand, but the hitman pulled away to fast, and ended up ten feet away from Natsu in the next half-second. Natsu blinked, surprised by the sudden movement he couldn't see, but then started walking after Reborn at a leisurely pace. Reborn grinned devilishly.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

That night, Reborn found himself in a dream mimicking when he first met the other Arcobaleno. He played along, and found himself in his baby form while Checkerface danced about gloating in front of them. The other Arcobaleno were about five seconds from attacking the man when he froze them all, effectively stopping them from killing him.

"Checkerface!" hissed Mammon.

Checkerface ignored them all, and went on to explain the whole deal about the watches that Reborn had seen in so many other generations of the Arcobaleno. He had seen the battles of the Arcobaleno before, so he knew all the rules and what to do. He drowned out all that Checkerface said, and instead focused on the other Arcobaleno, meeting each of their eyes and telling them to _play along._

When Checkerface asked them the fated question of if they wanted to participate to regain their adult forms, they all agreed quickly, except Reborn. Reborn, who knew Checkerface knew about his ability to transform into an adult, who knew it would look suspicious if he agreed, studied Checkerface silently.

"Well, for you the prize would be different." said Checkerface. "Reborn, would you like to gain eternal life? To never die, not from wounds or blood loss or decapitation?"

Reborn considered it. Reborn knew what Checkerface was actually talking about was Reborn's turning into a Vindice if he lost. Checkerface knew exactly everything about Reborn – not surprising considering he was just like Sephira, and Checkerface knew Sephira back when Reborn had been first turned by her.

The hitman, deciding to play his role, let a wide grin and laugh erupt from his throat, and then spread his arms out wide, since he could not move his feet, and bowed. "For it I shall be, I accept."

Checkerface smiled at the answer, and was about to end their dream when Reborn spoke up in a devastatingly vicious and yes pleasantly death-threat voice, "What of the Sky Arcobaleno? Which one will it be?"

Luce was still alive, although she did not have a Sky flame. Aria was dying, sick from the curse of a short life (it existed for all that were not vampires, after all). Yuni did not yet exist, as she would not be born for another month, and then so, as an infant, would not be able to participate. Yuni would have to be summoned by the pacifier, which would indeed happen, but the question that Reborn was truly asking was whether would it be Yuni or Tsuna who became the Sky Arcobaleno.

They both had Sky flame. They both were vampires. That fit equally. However, Yuni did not yet exist, and Tsuna did. Checkerface would either favor Tsuna, or he would favor Yuni, and whichever one he picked would be the Sky Arcobaleno to participate holding the Arcobaleno watch.

"That is for you to find out." said Checkerface.

Reborn heard and saw no more, for he woke up in his small hammock, made for his baby form, in Tsuna's room. Reborn normally didn't sleep in Tsuna's room, as he preferred his privacy, but Tsuna had insisted on it, and Reborn had only managed to get out of being used as a stuffed teddy bear to squeeze while in his baby form that he had quickly made a hammock in ten seconds flat and was sleeping in it before Tsuna could have complained.

When Reborn looked over to see if Tsuna was awake, he found Tsuna's bed to be empty. Frowning, Reborn looked down at the table to see his watches laying there, and hopped down to grab them.

Tsuna did not appear for the rest of the day.

Reborn took the boss watch to Natsu, after scouting around to see if Tsuna was nearby, and handed him the watch. Reborn hoped that the other Arcobaleno would play around and truly reveal their strength once the Vindice stepped into play. He had no desire to face Checkerface when the man was angry because Reborn had interrupted his plans.

Unknown to Reborn, Natsu, the guardians, Bianchi and Basil, Tsuna had gone off to Italy to see Yuni.

Byakuran and Gamma, who were arguing at the doors of the mansion about the 'innocence' and 'safety' of Yuni, saw Tsuna, they were surprised. When Tsuna, narrowed orange eyes and blazing Sky flame leaving fire licking at the edges of the grass followed him, they quickly split apart and skipped far, far away from Tsuna, who was clearly pissed and about ready to kill the closest person to him.

Once safely inside the doors, Byakuran looked at the burning grass. "Oh my, it looks like Tsunayoshi-kun is mad~!"

Gamma punched him while he was distracted.

Needless to say the two dissolved to arguing and fighting again about Yuni, with Yuni none the wiser as she sat across from Tsuna in her private quarters, listening to what he had found that morning, and about what Checkerface had told him.

"You want me to be your representative?" asked Yuni, confused. "And wear your Arcobaleno watch on the other wrist? How does that work?"

"You were once an Arcobaleno, far longer than I was. The Sky pacifier holds more of your life energy than it does mine." explained Tsuna. "Checkerface said that was possible. He was too amused, I think, to question me about it. I would still be the Sky Arcobaleno; now that I'm alive, I can feel the pacifier drawing me in, but you'll still be able to wear the Arcobaleno watch, since Checkerface never said it had to be the current Arcobaleno wearing the watch."

Yuni nodded, slowly. She bit her lip, uncertain. "But...you will be cursed...you won't live long, and if we lose against the Vindice, it will be you that will suffer _that _pain again. I don't think I my sanity would survive if I went through that again, surely you could not think of doing that, Tsuna!"

Tsuna's fingers clenched the hem of his shirt. He swallowed and looked up at Yuni, locking eyes with her. He leaned forward in his seat, and said, "That's only if we lose, right? W-we won't lose."

"Alright...I won't tell Gamma or Byakuran about this. I'll hide the boss watch on my mother's ribbon under my cloak, so it looks like I have the pacifier hidden under my clothes." said Yuni.

"Don't tell the other Arcobaleno either. I don't want Reborn to find out about this." said Tsuna. "If he finds out Checkerface picked me as the Sky Arcobaleno and finds out that if we lose I'll die, he'll flip out and get himself killed going after Checkerface. I don't want that."

"Mhmm." hummed Yuni, agreeing. She had no desire to see Reborn die an early death by challenging Checkerface either. Quietly, she untied the pacifier from around her neck, and gave it to Tsuna, who put it on the necklace chain that previously held the half-piece of Vongola Sky ring that he had. He tucked the pacifier under his shirt, and when Yuni offered him the small Mammon chains to seal the pacifier, he took them and wrapped those around the Sky pacifier.

Later that day, when Tsuna had taken to walking through the Giglio Nero gardens to prepare himself for the storm that was sure to come in the upcoming week, Yuni gave Gamma and Byakuran representative watches, and told them that the person who would hold the boss watch was a secret. Her quick dismissal of the topic told them both that she had no desire to talk about it, so they didn't.

Deep in the gardens behind Yuni's mansion, between rose bushes and green trees and saplings, hidden beneath them all and hidden from sight, Tsuna came around the corner of a bush to find Luce.

Tsuna stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Luce.

Luce stood silently, only three feet away at most, from Tsuna. She watched him, one eye tracking his every movement. Tsuna trembled slightly, thinking the worst. He hadn't expected to meet Luce of all people. He had no idea if she was here on orders or of her own free will, and either wasn't good.

Tsuna turned to run, using his speed to his advantage, but Luce short warped three feet in front of him just as he reached that distance. His jaw clenched and he turned the other direction, getting seven feet that time before Luce short warped in front of him, her hands grasping his shoulders.

Panicking, Tsuna pulled away, tears coming to his eyes as he remembered the feeling of cold Night flames at his fingertips and Bermuda's cold smile underneath the bandages wrapped around his face, and the feeling of dead-dead-dead rotting skin.

"N-no!" Tsuna shouted, and then put his arms out, palms out flat, and slammed them into Luce's stomach. Not aware of just how strong his new vampire strength was, Luce went flying back a good twenty feet, but got back up just as fast. Tsuna turn and fled.

Luce, having more experience, and knowing her own family's private house better than Tsuna, easily stopped him by taking a shortcut.

Frustrated, Tsuna looked up at Luce, his teeth together and bared, fists clenched as he slowly stepped back, trying to decide if it was better to run or to just give up. Letting out a long breath, Tsuna forced himself to stay put. Luce did not reach out for him this time, although she offered him a small smile.

"Tsuna," she said. "what I ask is something that is not appropriate for me to ask of you, but would you give me the last representative watch that you hold, so that I may use it?"

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**There can never be enough plot twists in one story. **

**(The way I avoid writers block is by placing a bunch of cards in a hat and picking out one when I have writers block. Cards like 'character death' 'angst' 'kiss scene' 'character a pushes character b into lake' 'funny scene' 'vampire' 'supernatural/werewolf/really anything weird'. Many, many cards. Guess what I drew a few chapters ago? ANGST. Now that's over, though, so you guys are all safe. Hooray!)**

**.**

_Andare morire – _Go die (in Italian, google translate used)


	26. Twin Presents

**Red**

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

"_Tsuna," she said. "what I ask if unquestionably unsound, but would you give me the last representative watch that you hold, so that I may use it?"_

Tsuna thought he might be choking on air, if that was possible, since he had no reason to breath. It was only habit that forced him to, and now, he thought it must have been strange, not breathing, not one movement of his chest up and down. It must have been weird, Tsuna thought, being in this sort of situation. He had expected to be grabbed and tied down. He had expected to be captured and dragged back, clawing and screaming and trying his hardest to get away from his captors. He'd thought that of all things, Luce's presence was something to fear. He had known she had helped Reborn – she was the only one who would've. There was no other explanation, and yet, despite the fact that she had undoubtedly saved Reborn's life, he still feared her. No, he didn't fear her. Tsuna knew he didn't fear Luce specifically. He feared what she stood for. He feared Bermuda, and the flames of Night. He hated the feeling of the cold on his skin and the wispy sort of death-like flames that had crept across his fingers at any chance it could get back then.

Tsuna hated the way he'd been used, and no matter how stupid he found himself to be, now that he looked back on it, he still found reason to blame Bermuda and Jager and the other Vindice more than he found reason to blame himself. It was human instinct to blame others, he assured himself, and it was only natural. Only right, after what he'd gone through. What had happened to him was something that he would not wish upon anyone, and he was glad that Reborn hadn't been forced to go through that pain of being separated from the Arcobaleno pacifier and feel the deep emptiness that the whole Night flames brought.

So, Tsuna knew he didn't fear Luce. He just feared what she meant – the flames of Night.

This was not what he had expected at all. Tsuna wasn't supposed to just give Luce his watch. He didn't trust her. He knew she was true to her name and wouldn't betray Reborn, and he knew that she was a good person, but he also knew that she owed him nothing, and that she had to obey Bermuda's orders or she'd die since she would no longer have any flames, and thus, no life. Every person had flames, though hardly any awakened them. Tsuna hadn't any clue of Luce's view on death, but he was certain she had things to do, and he was certain that she wouldn't risk her life for him just because he gave her his watch on some whim.

"Why do you want to be one of my representatives?" Tsuna asked, watching her closely. He knew she could warp just as he used to be able to do, but he had his speed. It took a few seconds for her to focus and pick a place to short warp, to gather the flames and shove them out of her body to make the ability to warp. He could run just as far as she could short warp, considering she could only do so a few ten times. "You'd just break my watch, wouldn't you? If Bermuda ordered you."

"I value my Sun and elements more than that." said Luce. "Haven't I already shown you that, Tsunayoshi? What I...what I've done and what I've risked so far, I am surprised that Bermuda has not kept a closer eye on me, but now that I have the opportunity, I will not waste it. He will not suspect me to have your watch. He may suspect that you are the Sky Arcobaleno, but he will not suspect me. I can fight against him, if I keep your watch. I can help you."

"You'd die, if he found out." Tsuna reminded her. "He would refuse to give you his Night flames, and without flames, you would die."

It was a sort of truce, a sort of understanding that they were both willing to do whatever it meant to help Reborn and the other Arcobaleno, their family. It was also that which kept Tsuna and Luce from agreeing, because they both cared far too much for their own methods and didn't trust the other to have a working plan. They had been enemies, friends, allies, strangers. There was more hidden than just regret in Luce's heart, Tsuna was sure of it.

Nobody wanted to die.

Bermuda was proof of that.

"I know." Luce told him. "I'm willing to risk that – just as you risked your life for what you love, I'll do the same. I've lived longer than you, I've lived far longer than any human, Tsunayoshi. I don't need any more time. I don't need to experience anything more of this world. I'm content with what I've seen and done. I'm ready to die for what needs to happen."

"If you don't die fighting Bermuda, you'll die either way if he loses or wins for this betrayal."

"Tsuna, _please_."

Tsuna felt his breath stop for a moment, and he knew what had happened, but he didn't want to admit it. Sky flames reached out for something – something Tsuna didn't know because there was nothing to reach for. The tone Luce used, the sort of begging, broken sort of voice that was the same as his own when he pleaded with Bermuda to take Reborn's place. He knew what that felt like. He knew what Luce felt, now.

He gave in. "Yes." he conceded. "I-I'll give you it – just take it and leave. I don't want to see you again, especially not near my guardians." Tsuna reached into his jacket pocket, and searched for the watch. He felt the watch brush over his fingers, paused for a moment, indecision riding across his thoughts, before he shut his eyes tight, ripped the watch out of his pocket, and threw it at Luce. It wasn't in any way a perfect throw – he wasn't called dame-Tsuna for a reason. He could throw knives and shoot a gun, but he couldn't aim worth a dime. Luce caught it anyways, and tucked it under her decaying hat.

Luce bowed low. "_Grazie_."

Then, as due his request, she was gone in the next second, with only open air to show she had ever existed in the spot in the first place. Tsuna opened his eyes, stared with an emotion unreadable to him stirring behind the hiss of his Hyper Intuition, and walked away. He was intent on finishing his stroll through the gardens of the Giglio Nero. He had no intention of worrying Yuni by disappearing just because he was unsure and indecisive on the act of giving Luce his last representative watch.

The wind was the only thing that answered Tsuna's low sigh.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Natsu was running. Running after his father, who was screaming about Nana and how she wouldn't like to see him killed because Natsu honestly took the battle as an excuse to kill him. The Ninth couldn't complain if it involved the Arcobaleno after all. Nobody could, since they were immortal midgets anyways. Or so Natsu believed.

"Natsu, be nice to your father." commented a baby Reborn, from atop Hayato's head, who was following just a foot or two behind Natsu as a right-hand-man should. Hayato was happy with the arrangement, being highly amused by Natsu and Iemitsu's antics. "He only has one hand, and while he can still handle that pickaxe well enough, you're destroying the school, and I'm not going to protect you from Hibari when he finds out that the entire east wing is gone because of you."

"Iemitsu's fault." Natsu bit out, still running. Iemitsu turned a corner and Natsu willed his ice in front of him and slid across the floor, faster than running, and then had ice spikes shoot up just in front of Iemitsu, who dodged. It resulted in the second floor collapsing.

Reborn petted Leon. He had decided that if Natsu wanted to be killed by Hibari Kyouya, then this was the way to do it.

Natsu had willingly taken on the Vongola's sins. He knew all about Iemitsu's mafia deeds through the memories of the previous bosses, considering they had watched Timoteo read through reports and would see Iemitsu whenever he came within their range; close enough to Timoteo who wore the ring at the time. This also meant that he was pissed, because he had known that Iemitsu had gotten more vacation time than the man had said, but Natsu hadn't known that Iemitsu routinely got weekends off when they weren't being attacked.

Considering Iemitsu was a CEDEF member, and the head, fighting wasn't a big part of his paperwork job. That meant that once Iemitsu was done with his paperwork, he could have easily asked for a day off, and come to see Natsu and the former Sawada family.

Somewhere off in the distance, where Hibari was with Fon, antagonizing the Shimon for intruding on Namimori property when they didn't live there (during the battle time, no less, and not giving a care in the world about it), Hibari turned towards the direction where he felt his Sky to be, and frowned.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Running with vampire speed wasn't a nice thing, Tsuna found out a day and a half later, on his way back to the Chaos house with Yuni, Byakuran, Gamma, and the other minions of Yuni and Byakuran's, who bickered constantly with one another.

Tsuna found out rather quickly why Reborn always ate normal food – human food – constantly. His stomach hurt, which didn't make sense, because he didn't need to eat human food, and he didn't have organs that functioned all that alive unless he wanted them to (his heartbeat and breath and digestive system were all things that had been affected greatly by the change into a vampire).

Seeing this, Yuni was quick to pull out a slice of bread and hand it to him while they walked down the street. Byakuran watched them, just as suspicious as Gamma was, but said nothing. The two knew something odd was up with Yuni and Tsuna, and after Tsuna's burning of the grass fields between their mansion on the nearest town, it was a reasonable suspicion.

Tsuna took the bread with one hand, and bit down. It tasted like cardboard.

"What is this?"

Yuni smiled her little innocent smile. "Bread."

"This," Tsuna emphasized, pointing at the bread with his free hand, turning his head over his shoulder to glare at Yuni. "is not bread."

"Well, no, but it's bread that I like. We all taste things differently." That was new information to Tsuna. "So what tastes bad to you might taste like cake to me. It's just how like Byakuran likes sweets but Gamma doesn't. Mm, I would give you something else, but I don't have any food with me, but your house is close here, right?"

"Yeah." Tsuna mumbled, stuffing the food back into his mouth, if only to stop his stomach from cramping up and turning itself over. He would ask Reborn about vampire senses later, and why something as simple as bread tasted gritty and dry and hard to chew.

"Have you told them about the reality behind this?" Tsuna asked Yuni, clearly meaning her famiglia. "I don't think the others will really get serious, but I think that more than a few of my guardians at least would want to test their skills against one another. They'll probably fight, with Mammon's group too, since I'm guessing he picked the Varia. They haven't liked Reborn since he threatened to kill them during the ring battles and pointed his gun at them."

"I'd imagine." Yuni said softly. She raised a hand up to readjust her large hat (so similar to Luce's, yet not, with its shining gold colors and black and white and fullness, that wasn't damaged and in pieces and falling apart at the slightest touch) and then swung around to face Byakuran, stopping all those behind her.

Byakuran grinned at the new attention. "What would you like, Yuni-chan?"

"I want to make an alliance with Reborn's team. Checkerface has to think we're serious, and an alliance makes it more real. We'll fight too. Just try not to destroy too many of the other team's boss watches, okay?"

Gamma nodded for Byakuran, gleefully taking the leader-minion place. "I'll go ask."

Byakuran's grin dropped just a millimeter. "No, I think I will~ after all, I know Na-chan better than you do, Gamma."

Tsuna wanted to punch them both and be over with it. He had never actually met Byakuran before, only heard stories, and the only time he'd seen the man had been ten years in the future in the brief time he'd stolen Yuni from them. That didn't stop Tsuna from understanding why Natsu had been greatly annoyed by Byakuran, or why he killed him. Natsu wasn't good at future planning, and so he probably never guessed that he'd meet a younger Byakuran, which meant Tsuna would be forced to explain to his twin that no, he could not kill Byakuran or break his watch, and that no, Byakuran wasn't on drugs and wasn't hitting on him, it was just a Byakuran thing. If Tsuna wasn't so well versed in the random sing-song tones Byakuran shot at him that were so similar to Reborn's when he truly wanted to murder someone, he might have been creeped out.

"You can both go." Yuni told them, with a stern tone that told them to stop argueing while they had time. "Tsuna will want to go back home too, so we'll all be there. There's no need to fight over it. It's not a diplomatic mission, Gamma, Byakuran."

"Yes, princess." replied Gamma.

"Yes, yes, of course." Byakuran responded.

Tsuna wasn't fond of them, but he could deal with the Giglio Nero without bursting out in tears. He didn't know if he could do the same when facing Reborn again. Yuni understood why he did what he did, and she had helped him, and she understood the pain that he had gone through to get there, because she had been forced into it too. Yuni, who looked so much like Luce it hurt, Tsuna could stand being around. Luce reminded him of all the bad, but Yuni reminded him of why he went through all the bad to get to the good.

The brunet hoped that perhaps Natsu would understand too. It was a selfless hope, and a useless one. Natsu would never change. Reborn had told Tsuna that. Reborn had told him that Natsu was a sociopath, a person who could feel no empathy or guilt. Natsu only did what he thought was his right to do, and he was possessive to a fault of Tsuna. Tsuna reasoned that because of that, because he was the closest one to Natsu, he would understand why Tsuna did what he did and went to the Vindice, but at the same time, he knew it wouldn't happen. Natsu would give him one glance and wouldn't care. He would say that Tsuna was just Tsuna, and that now that he was back he wouldn't let Tsuna run away again, and that would be that.

It wouldn't be a nice welcoming, once Natsu learned that it was Tsuna who was the Sky Arcobaleno and not Yuni, participating in that role in the Representative battle.

That meant that if they lost, Tsuna was fated to die. The Arcobaleno knew the costs that relied on their victory and loss of the battle that was soon to happen against the Vindice, but not the one involving Tsuna. The brunet intended for it to stay that way. Checkerface favored him over Yuni – he wanted Tsuna to die more than he wanted Yuni to die and get out of the way.

Tsuna honestly wasn't that surprised, considering how much he had messed with Checkerface's plans and the Vindice and the Representative battle and the Sky pacifier and the Trinisette. How much of it Checkerface knew, Tsuna didn't truly know, but he hoped that Checkerface didn't know too much. Otherwise their plan wouldn't work, and they wouldn't have enough people to fight against the Vindice.

"Yuni." Tsuna called the immortal girl over.

"Yes?" Yuni asked. She moved fast. Tsuna wasn't looking to see if she had used her speed or not. He didn't care. Byakuran and Gamma probably already suspected it from how Yuni acted. She didn't eat much food after all. "What is it?"

"How well did you know your grandmother?"

Yuni blinked. She was more surprised at the past tense than present that should have been in that sentence. "What do you mean?"

"Was she trustworthy or not – when she was alive?" Tsuna asked. "Aria, your mother, she must have told you about Luce, right? I've been curious, since Reborn speaks so highly of her, but I don't really think that his...tellings of her are accurate."

Yuni pressed her lips together, pausing just a moment. Then, she opened her mouth, looking up into Tsuna's golden-orange eyes. "Luce was an honest person. Mother said she didn't like to lie, but she couldn't bare to tell the Arcobaleno she was dying, so she left them before they could learn of her dying state. They felt her die, though. She couldn't hide that. Mother said that it was horrible, seeing them in their grief after grandmother had died."

"Aa." Tsuna nodded, making an agreeing sort of mumble. "So, you'd trust her? If she wasn't your grandmother, but another person living right now?"

"Yes." Yuni said without hesitation. "She tricked them – all of her elements – but they still loved her. They still do. I'm not their Sky, but because of the pacifiers, I can feel what they feel when they think of her. Her memory is in the pacifier, just like my mother's is."

"Even Lal?" Tsuna was surprised. Yuni had said elements, meaning all of Luce's Storm, Rain, Lightning, Mist, Cloud and Sun elements that were connected to her. Lal Mirch did not hold the Rain pacifier.

"Lal is connected to the Trinisette, which is why she is still small. She was supposed to be the Rain Arcobaleno, not Colonello, but something went wrong." Yuni told him. "Mother wrote it down in her journal, all her theories about why Lal was still a baby while she wasn't, and why Lal was still unable to use her Rain flame that well just like all the other Arcobaleno despite not having the pacifier sucking out her flames. They were all theories though. I...I didn't really understand them. Mother was always much smarter than me when dealing with the Arcobaleno. I only just inherited."

Tsuna nodded.

They reached the Chaos house without interruption. Yuni was the second one in the door, following after Tsuna, while Byakuran and Gamma and the others remained outside to watch for enemies and also give the two former (and not former) Sky Arcobaleno's their privacy.

Reborn was the first to notice them, having been in the kitchen. The baby greeted them with a sharp disappointed tone in his voice. Tsuna winced, knowing exactly why. He had left without telling anyone. Hopefully Yuni and him wouldn't be caught having switched pacifier and boss watch.

"Hello, Reborn." Tsuna said to Reborn, in response to his terse welcome back. "Yuni called me last night, so I had to leave quickly. Sorry for not telling you."

"Its fine." Reborn said dismissively. "Now, what business are you here on, Yuni? I'm sure that Checkerface gave you the watches and told you about the Representatives you're supposed to gather?"

"Yes." said Yuni. She took a seat beside Reborn at the kitchen table. Tsuna took the seat across from Reborn, and put his hands intertwined on the table, leaning forward to listen. "I was wondering if you would have an alliance with us."

"An alliance?" Reborn paused, looking over his shoulder at Natsu, who was on the couch in the living room, listening closely. "What do you say, baka-Natsu? Up for a challenge? As long as you don't break anyone's boss watch, I'll let you fight anyone you want to your heart's content."

Natsu glared at the three sitting in the kitchen. "Whatever you want, Reborn-sama." He said sarcastically, waving his hand up in a circle, landing in a point at Yuni. "Just make sure she doesn't kill my brother in this stupid mock battle. You picked him as one of your representatives, right?"

Yuni only hesitated for a few seconds. "Yes." she said. "But he doesn't have my boss watch. I'm sorry, but I can't reveal who holds my boss watch at the moment. It's a secret – Byakuran and Gamma, even they do not know."

"Byakuran?" Reborn narrowed his eyes. "You picked Byakuran as your representative?"

"He's loyal to me." Yuni assured him. "He won't try to take over the world, I promise. He's over that. I just...he's..." Yuni swallowed down her uncertainty. "trustworthy."

Reborn wasn't satisfied with that answer, but let it go.

There was no use crying over something that had already happened, after all.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Tsuna had known the Vindice would sneak into Checkerface's Representative game, but he hadn't expected for the Vindice to completely take out Skull's team. It had only been a day, and yet already an entire team was out. The Shimon would no longer be able to help them now like they had helped Natsu and his guardians during the Inheritance ceremony.

"Tsuna?" Yuni spoke to him, raising her left arm and hesitantly reaching out to press her small hand against his face. Tsuna turned into the pressure, looking with tear filled eyes at Yuni.

"Y-Yuni, if we fail, then they'll all turn out like this. The Vindice are horrible...this is too cruel! I can't stand it! This sort of thing – this sort of thing – it reminds me of how Natsu used to act, and it scares me, because I know what it feels like. Someone like that, doing it just because they can – just because they're too bothered to just ask for Skull and Enma and all of their watches – or to just steal them...and yet to destroy them just because they can? I-I just-,"

Yuni brought her other hand up and put it on Tsuna's other cheek, and pulled his head down to look at her. She put her hands down and looked him in the eyes; her own turning incarnate red.

"Stay strong." she said.

The hospital monitor beeped loudly from inside the room the Shimon were in. Tsuna and Yuni had visited just after Natsu and Reborn had left, and they were completely alone, standing outside the door.

"We can get through this. You can do this. I know what the Vindice did to you, and I don't know what that must have felt like, but even so, you must get through this." Yuni said. "You can't break yet. Don't turn into the person you were before, don't turn into the boy Reborn found in that alley! You _must_ hold on!"

"How?" snapped Tsuna, pushing her away in the door. The hallway was empty, and the Shimon were nowhere close to consciousness to listen to their conversation. White surrounded them, and Yuni felt small compared to it all. "I've already done my best, and look where that got me! Now I have to go behind Reborn's back yet again just on the hope that we might win! I never wanted this! How am I supposed to hold on when I'm already falling apart?!"

Tsuna grabbed the necklace holding up the Sky Pacifier and ripped it up from underneath his shirt, and snarl escaping from his lips. Yuni forced herself to not back away. She held his gaze.

"Tsuna, you can't show that here!"

"No! Just shut up!" Tsuna lashed out, but then, as if a light switch had been switched, he stopped. His arms dropped. The Sky Pacifier swung on the necklace close to his knee, brushing against his body. It pulsed with warm light. "Maybe it would be better if I let Natsu hit and kick me again. I fi let him possess me like he wants. At least that is better than watching my friends get hurt and die because of me, or to go back to the Vindice if they decide I'm useful to them. I don't want to be near that flame again! I hate it!"

Yuni's mouth was open wide. She tried to say something – anything – but only small mumbles came out before she broke off, to shocked to say anything. It was not her area to comment on Tsuna's and Natsu's relationship, and she did not know enough about what had happened in the past to criticize Tsuna for it. She wasn't a close enough friend and she had already cursed him. Her family had. Yuni knew she had no right to say anything.

Tsuna breathed deeply, huffing.

They stood in silence for more than a few seconds.

Yuni closed her red eyes, and let them fade back into the black they had been before.

"You don't really mean that, do you, Tsunayoshi?" asked Yuni.

Tsuna shook his head.

"Sorry." he muttered, and walked away. Tsuna didn't turn to look back, and Yuni didn't chase after him. The Vindice were stressing them all out, and both Yuni and Tsuna were no exception.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

"Natsu, I have lunch!" yelled Tsuna up the stairs. He shook the bag that held the food for added effect to make sound to prove that he indeed did have food. "If you don't get down here, I'll eat it all and then run circles around you with my vampire speed!"

"Go jump in a dumpster!" shouted Natsu. He hopped down three stairs at a time to reach Tsuna at the bottom of the stairs. He snatched the bag out of Tsuna's hand, glaring spitefully. "Stupid dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna blinked, then let a warm smile cover his face. He had accepted everything that had happened so far. He knew this was how Natsu would act when only Tsuna was there with him. He hadn't expected any different. Natsu hadn't redeemed himself; he had learned how to hide his intentions better and act with precision due to Reborn's teachings.

"Yes, of course, Natsuhiko-sama." Tsuna drawled, and bowed his head.

Natsu paused mid-step on his way to the kitchen doorway. He looked back at Tsuna, who still had his head bowed. A twisted frown made its way onto his face.

"Was that sarcasm, dame-Tsuna?"

Tsuna's smile split into a grin. "Of course not."

"That was, you dirty liar."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just not going to take your insults sitting down, _twin." _said Tsuna. He raised his head, showing off the grin. "I'm faster and stronger than you now. I may not be confident or have that much skill, but I can escape you now. That counts for something."

Natsu hissed like a snake. "And yet I was the one that beat you during the Inheritance ceremony, _dame-Tsuna."_

Tsuna stared at him.

Then, the watch on Natsu's watch beeped and the voice came through.

The next battle was starting.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

Despite losing an arm, Xanxus fought rather well for a disabled man.

Byakuran was peeved, and while Xanxus swung his other arm around and shot off a devastating blow towards Jager with his gun, Byakuran narrowly avoided getting fried to bits. The white-haired teenager was forced to dive to the ground and duck. His smile had left his face by then, and when Xanxus fell, Byakuran lunged forward with the sole intent to punch Jager in the face.

It didn't happen.

Jager disappeared and reappeared behind Byakuran, but as they all knew by now that Jager always appeared behind people, Byakuran ducked and rolled, grabbing Xanxus' gun on the way down, shot back up to his knees and shot a torrent of burning hot sky flames at Jager.

As soon as Byakuran had been kicked to the side (Jager having avoided the shot), Chrome, Mukuro and Hibari went in for the kill.

Chrome's trident was smashed to pieces.

Mukuro got his arm twisted around like one would twist a piece of air into a braid.

Hibari was thrown twenty feet and landed on Enma and Hayato, who were both trying to steer clear of the fight, both their watches broken to tiny bits.

Only Natsu was left on Reborn's side. Yuni, Byakuran and Tsuna were all left on the Sky Arcobaleno's side, and both Yuni and Tsuna had yet to fight. Luce, with her ripped up hat and dress, stood on the sidelines with Bermuda on her shoulder. She had obeyed Bermuda's orders when he had told her not to interfere with Jager's battle; confident that Jager could win against a couple of kids.

"Tsuna..."

Tsuna knelt down next to Yuni, who was on her knees, her hands clasped together in a silent prayer. She lifted her head to look at him, and her eyes shone red.

"May I?" she asked. Underneath her cloak, the boss watch hung on her mother's ribbon, hiding in the place of where her Sky Pacifier should have been. Checkerface must have been laughing at them, Tsuna was sure of it.

Only a madman could make something like the Arcobaleno's future into a fun game, with a fake prize as a reward.

"Don't die." It was the only thing Tsuna could say.

The Vindice were ruthless, and so Tsuna knew he had to match that. The only thing to hope for was for Yuni not to die. She could move faster than the eye could see, and she had the same strength Reborn had. She could fight Jager and win, with luck. Yuni didn't have much skill at fighting, and she couldn't manipulate her Sky flame like Tsuna and Natsu could, but she could still use it.

Yuni was a mafia boss.

"I won't." Yuni replied, bringing her two guns out of her pockets. They weren't her own. They were Natsu's own guns; his Zero gun, which Yuni was unable to use since she had no ice to switch her flame into, and his sky-flame gun that was eerily similar to Xanxus' and was used in the same way.

Natsu saw this, and nodded to the two of them. Yuni tossed the Zero gun to Natsu, and the blonde caught it. He didn't waste any time in covering the entire square in ice and flame, freezing every spot Jager tried to land on, and covering the air in sky flame that burned anything it touched to ashes. It was a vengeful flame, one that held the Vongola's sins and mistakes.

Tsuna had asked Natsu for his guns earlier that day, and Natsu was the one who had quickly figured out that it wasn't Tsuna that was the Sky Arcobaleno's representative, but Yuni. Natsu knew as well as Tsuna, and Reborn, and Byakuran, and the entire Giglio Nero famiglia that Yuni couldn't fight in hand-to-hand combat, so he gave Tsuna his sky flame gun that would work for Yuni. With her high speed, it would be put to good use, and since Yuni no longer had the Sky Pacifier she no longer had it sucking out her flames from her body, which meant she could utilize them in battle.

Against Natsu, with his long range fighting, and Yuni, with her high speed, and Byakuran, with his ability to fly, Jager didn't stand as good of a chance as he did before. He fell with ice cover his right arm and flames burning at the bandages and dead flesh he wore.

"Yay~!" cheered Byakuran, high up in the air with his white wings. He didn't seem fazed that Yuni now wore the boss watch of the Sky Arcobaleno.

Bermuda on the other hand, was outraged.

"You bitch!" Bermuda bellowed.

"You should know," Yuni told him, calmly. "that when you killed my great grandmother, you never stood a chance against us. We _never_ forget. Ever how many decades it takes us, you will fall, and that day is today, Bermuda von Veckenschtein."

On the sidelines, in his baby form, Reborn smirked.

"Tsuna is the Sky Arcobaleno?" muttered Natsu, confused. He bit his tongue lightly, grimacing. "How annoying. You bore me." Natsu turned his head to look at Luce, who had appeared next to him not a foot away. Luce opened her mouth slightly, surprised that he was able to sense her, but Natsu looked at her with a sort of look one might look at an ant with. "I don't like boring things, so get out of my way. Bermuda is mine."

"I cannot do that." said Luce. "I was ordered by Bermuda-sama to kill you."

Jager lay on the ground before them, a giant hole in his chest. His boss watch was yet to be broken. Yuni and Byakuran were distracted with Bermuda, and Natsu with Luce. The entire square was covered in a thin sheet of ice. Tsuna watched the three Vindice members carefully; he had no idea what Luce had done with his watch, and he had no idea what would happen. Luce had to be trustworthy – it was the only thing Tsuna had to think about, the thing he had to believe – or he'd lose it.

Instead of helping Natsu, Reborn stayed back. Tsuna glanced over at him, but Reborn pointedly did not try to look at Tsuna. Frustrated, Tsuna stood in place, not knowing what to do. He was useless, no-good, and he couldn't fight. That was the rules as the Sky Arcobaleno. He didn't want to find out what Checkerface would do if he tried to fight.

Reborn, on the other hand, was not afraid to break a few rules if it meant winning. Reborn didn't lose. He refused to lose. Reborn was over six hundred years old. Reborn was Sephira's apprentice. Reborn was Luce's former caretaker. Reborn was a vampire. Reborn was the world's best hitman. Reborn was a possessive shapeshifting bastard who didn't believe in the existence of personal space. Reborn was a sarcastic man and sharp tongue who knew more insults than all of the Vongola and Giglio Nero and Millefiore combined. Reborn was the best of the best.

Reborn was not going to die if they lost.

Reborn was going to win, even if it killed him.

Bermuda whispered, "Present please."

Yuni gasped, and spun to her left, but felt a sharp hand slice through the gap between her ribs, and fell to her knees. Just as her mind registered the pain, Yuni pushed it aside, and swung her fist around, dropping the gun and moving her arm to her chest as Bermuda tried to cut that hand off. The punch landed, and Bermuda was flying.

It wasn't enough. Yuni tried to run and get away from the black portal that opened up in front of her, sucking her in, but it wasn't destined to work. Yuni fell through the black portal, and was gone.

Tsuna screamed. "Yuni!"

Then, thirty feet up in the air, Yuni was falling. When Bermuda warped to her falling form, she couldn't move in the air and use her vampire speed. Gravity denied her that privilege, and the watch on her right arm was broken. Bermuda slammed his foot into her stomach, and Yuni was sent at a frightening speed to smash into the ground, creating cracks in the ice Natsu had made.

Natsu's eyes widened at the display, but he had no time to focus on Yuni's broken body before he found himself with his tendons in the back of his feet, his Achilles tendons, sliced. Blood poured out, and Natsu felt searing pain travel up his legs and through the back of his knees and hip, and he lost his stable footing on the ground and fell on his side. Natsu howled in rage, and as if he was in no pain at all, forced ice to spike up from the ground all around him in a ten foot radius. It barely touched Yuni's body, but one tiny spike managed to rip her white cloak.

Natsu wasn't fast enough and Luce warped away – to in front of Tsuna's paralyzed body. Tsuna caught the movement with his sharp sight, but was unable to do anything, because Luce was moving at inhuman speeds, and Tsuna was just two seconds late to fully move out of the way.

Tsuna wondered if this was some sort of plan, if Luce would suddenly turn around and stab Bermuda in the back, but it wasn't. Tsuna knew he was going to get hit, and he knew that it would hurt, and that it would be a critical hit because it was a hit that mirrored Bermuda's and was meant to behead him.

Natsu was surrounded by ice spikes, but he still saw Tsuna's fear- filled eyes and screamed anyways, both in rage and in his inability to fight against a being that moved too fast for him to see. Yuni was unconscious, and the others were unfit to battle. Byakuran held the last of Tsuna's representative watches, as far as Tsuna knew, but Byakuran was far up in the air, and too high up and too far away to stop Luce.

Tsuna had thought that Bermuda was telling the truth when he had said he hadn't wanted to kill any of the Arcobaleno. But then again, Tsuna thought, he knew he hadn't been the Sky Arcobaleno for long, and perhaps it was the time spent cursed that mattered instead of the simple fact that he was the Sky Arcobaleno. Tsuna had been cursed, just the same as Yuni once had, and Aria, and Luce, and Sephira. His Sky flames would not respond to him, too used up by the pacifier. He could not summon his dying will, because his body was already in such a state that using his flames might just kill him since his body was technically dead.

However, there was one thing Tsuna forgot, and that was Reborn's possessiveness of things that he considered his.

"Die, Sawada Tsunayoshi." Bermuda said.

Luce's eyes were red – no, Tsuna realized, it wasn't Luce's eyes, it was Reborn's.

"Re-," started Tsuna, shocked but mouth moving, surprised but still alive, as Reborn was suddenly in front of him. Reborn was in his adult form, and his eyes were red – a sign that he had just transformed, and Tsuna could see the small detail of the bleeding fang marks on the edge of hitman's hand – and he was standing in front of Tsuna, his arms out eagle-spread, his back to Luce.

Reborn didn't smile. He didn't say anything. He only looked at Tsuna, his red eyes locking with Tsuna's golden orange ones. The hand that plunged through Reborn's chest, where his heart was, masked in blood. In Reborn's blood.

Luce didn't show any surprise on her face.

She pulled her hand out of Reborn's chest, and Reborn fell to his knees in front of Tsuna, his mouth slightly open and blood dripping out of the corners of his lips. His mouth moved to say something, but Tsuna was too emotional to hear it. Reborn's hand dropped his fedora onto Tsuna's head, pressed lightly against Tsuna's face and speckled it with blood as it fell, and Reborn's body dropped to the ground face-down.

Tears dripped from Tsuna's red eyes.

"R-Re-Reborn." wailed Tsuna, his hands reaching down and shaking Reborn lightly. Tsuna raised his hands back up to feel them covered in sticky, red blood, and choked back a sob. "N-no!"

Natsu was on his hands and knees, but his eyes were on Reborn's bloody mess of a body. His eyes were wide. He hadn't believed that a person so like him would give up his life just to save a possession. He didn't understand what had happened. One thing that he did understand was the words Reborn had uttered, and what they meant. The words that Tsuna had not heard.

The Sky Arcobaleno reached for the gun Reborn had been holding, left aside at his knees, and lifted it up to his head. Overcome with grief, and his mind lost, Tsuna sniffed once, closed his eyes tightly, and pulled the trigger.

The echo of the gunshot rang through the minds of everyone conscious.

Tsuna slumped to the ground next to Reborn.

The gun was dropped.

The sound of the gunshot only stayed in Natsu's mind for a half a second before he heard the same words he had listened to Reborn say not moments before.

"Present, please."

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O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

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**. Not edited **

It's been two weeks. Sorry for not updating sooner. Fever and bruised ribs and all that nasty stuff. Anyways, have fun with guessing what will happen next. Don't worry. Things will turn out fine...Probably. Cliffhangers are fun, don't you think?

. Reminder that the estimate of when the next update will be out is on my profile


	27. Sawada Akitoshi Natsuhiko

_**Warning**__: please refrain from breaking your laptop/computer/electronic device while reading this chapter, as about three pages in, you'll likely want to destroy/kill something. Plot twists are a bitch, by the way. Have fun~!_

**Red**

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Unlike one might have thought, blood did not run out of the bullet hole that was supposed to be in Tsuna's head. Instead, the brunet rose from the ground, with the orange Sky Pacifier glowing, around his neck free to see. The pacifier dropped to the ground, and Tsuna's dying will flame lit up on his head, his Sky flame burning brightly.

"Present please." Tsuna echoed Reborn's earlier statement just moments before he had collapsed.

Yuni was unconscious. Natsu was unable to walk. Chrome was ready to fight again, having used her own illusions to sustain her body, but refrained from jumping into battle because her own Sky's will told her not to interfere. Mukuro and Hibari were both too injured to fight. Reborn was on the ground, not entirely as dead as Tsuna had believed – he could hear the hitman's breath (which was quite odd, because Reborn wasn't supposed to breath, that was what humans did). Xanxus was without an arm. Squalo had a gaping hole in his stomach. Byakuran wisely stayed in the air, away from Luce, Bermuda and Tsuna.

Luce smiled, hearing Tsuna's heartbeat and his lungs moving to help him breath. "So it's like Reborn said." she muttered, too low for anyone but Tsuna, who was closest to her, to hear. Her hand dripped with the blood of Reborn's own lifeforce. "It undoes every curse. Our vampire curse as well. Reborn was correct."

Natsu watched curiously, interested to see what this new Tsuna would do.

"I'm alive?" Tsuna's rage was momentarily baited as he felt his body feel as if a weight had been lifted off it. He felt feather light. He could feel the blood pumping through his veins, feel the pulse in his fingers. He could not hear half as well as he could have five minutes ago, nor could he smell much of anything anymore. His sight was horribly dull, and he couldn't see the threads of Luce's ripped up dress that were near her feet that had fallen during the movement she had taken – despite knowing that they were there, and having seen then crystal clear only a minute ago. "I'm _human_?" Tsuna was confused. The rules had stated that the Arcobaleno curse would be removed.

Tsuna also remembered that there was a reason why the original earthlings never wore the pacifiers either. It must have undone their own abilities and turned them into humans when they took off the pacifier – which would explain why Sephira had been so easy to kill, according to Reborn, once she had passed down the pacifier to her daughter, Luce.

Sephira had been human when Bermuda had killed her – and Reborn hadn't told him, that bastard.

Tsuna looked down at Reborn's body, frowning.

He recognized the words the hitman had said right after Luce had pulled her hand out of his body. Now he was angry, but he wasn't angry at Luce. He was angry at Reborn for tricking him. Spitefully, Tsuna kicked Reborn in the ribs, hard.

"Get up, you pathetic, deceitful, annoying mentor!" demanded Tsuna. "You tricked me!"

Reborn, a human Reborn with a beating heart and organs that worked and moved, grinned as he shifted and rolled over on his back. The gaping hole in Reborn's chest that should have been there was gone. All of Tsuna's wounds were gone too. The pacifier's power had reversed their bodies to a time when they had been pure – to when they were human, with no injuries. It was the same with the Arcobaleno, it reversed their bodies to a time when they were human adults.

"Yes, but I needed you to be angry." Reborn told him.

"What?" Tsuna hissed. He moved to stomp Reborn in the face, but Reborn blocked it, grabbing the heel of Tsuna's shoe before it crashed down on his face. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"You can't have a dying will when you're already dead, dame-Tsuna." said Reborn. "So I needed you to be alive. I tested my theory earlier when you were off with Yuni during the first battle that you oh-so-conveniently missed." Reborn didn't bother to hide his gleeful smugness. "Now that you have a dying will, I can do this-," Reborn picked up the gun that Tsuna had dropped, raised it to Tsuna's head, and pulled the trigger. "Go kill Bermuda for me, will you, human?"

Tsuna easily tilted his head to the side to dodge the mocking shot. "You manipulated me!"

"I did what was right for me. I told you, didn't I? I only used you and Natsu as pawns in my game so that the Vindice wouldn't be able to come after me. I became the greatest hitman so that if I disappeared people would notice. I lied to the Arcobaleno about Luce's sickness so that I could leave them acting out in a fake grieving state. I used you, Sawada Tsunayoshi, all so that I can live." Reborn said, his voice turning cold. Reborn's grin was faded from his face, and instead there was a flat expression as he laid on the ground, looking vulnerable, but nothing close to it. "I adopted you. I hid the fact that Sawada Akitoshi Nana killed herself – yes, don't give me that look, I hid a lot of things from you – all so that you'd protect me from dying. I'm a bastard. I'm Reborn after all. You didn't think I'd just adopt some pitiful, dying human on a whim or just because he was Giotto's descendant, did you?"

Reborn laughed.

"You're stronger with that dying will of yours. Stronger than Natsuhiko."

Reborn pointed at Bermuda's still form; who at this point didn't look at all amused.

"Kill him for me, Sawada Tsunayoshi." Reborn ordered. "I taught you how to fight. Hate me. But, before that, kill my enemy. Kill the one who caused me to do this to you. I want him dead. He took _my _Skies from me. I will never forgive that."

Tsuna stared at Reborn's face for a long while. He didn't think this would happen. Reborn wasn't supposed to be so cynical. Tsuna wanted to deny it, but he couldn't, seeing as what Reborn had planned did work. Tsuna was human now, and he had a dying will. His regret was exactly what Reborn wanted it to be, formed in his grief by the supposed death of his not-so-nice father figure mentor.

Tsuna had been tricked, and he honestly didn't want to believe it. Tsuna knew what he had to do. His dying will was saying destroy Bermuda. His Sky flame whispered promises in his ears of the fame and glory he would obtain by killing the Vindice leader.

Now, Tsuna didn't want that. He still had that same dying will, but he didn't want to obey that dying will solely because he didn't want to obey this sardonic Reborn. Tsuna didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to do anymore.

_Everything up until now was a lie?_

Tsuna wanted to snarl in rage. He wanted to destroy something. He wanted to kill something. He wanted to relieve himself of the blaring emotion that could only be rage bubbling up in his gut and sending waves of uneasiness coursing through his body. He couldn't stand it. Tsuna knew they had to win, otherwise the Arcobaleno would die, but, if he won-

The Sky Arcobaleno stopped. Froze. Paused.

Tsuna's eyes widened.

He shouldn't have been able to say 'present please' and release his curse. He shouldn't have been able to fight – Checkerface's little helper would have said that was against the rules, since his boss watch was broken. Unless the watch that Yuni had been wearing, for some godforsaken reason, _wasn't his boss watch._

Luce, as if knowing his thoughts, smiled at him.

_No, _Tsuna realized, the watch Yuni had been wearing had been the regular watch he had given Luce. So then, Tsuna reasoned, who had his boss watch? Only, watching the innocent smile light up on Luce's face, Tsuna's mind put together the pieces. Luce hadn't been surprised when Reborn had jumped in front of him. She had 'killed' him without hesitation, which a Sky wouldn't be able to do to one's elements. Luce was still connected to them, after all. Which meant Luce had known all along – both Luce and Reborn had planned out the whole thing, without telling Tsuna himself. Reborn had _known _that Luce had asked for his representative watch. Reborn had probably guessed that he'd be the Sky Arcobaleno – which was why he hadn't acted when Yuni had fought Bermuda by herself. It was the reason why he hadn't interfered when Natsu's watch had been threatened – because it didn't matter if Reborn lost his boss watch, because Tsuna would still have his.

In front of him, Bermuda's regular representative watch that Luce was wearing shattered. Luce crushed it in her right hand, letting the pieces drop to the ground in front of Tsuna's eyes. She did not move away, and she didn't turn to Bermuda. Luce stayed put, loyal to both Reborn and Tsuna, purposefully showing that she cared nothing for Bermuda, and cared nothing for her own life if it meant beating the Vindice boss.

Tsuna wanted to go hide in a corner and never come out. He felt small, insignificant compared to this. Luce and Reborn expected him to fight Bermuda and win.

Tsuna was dame. He was convinced of that. Reborn had said that he was stronger than Natsu though. That didn't make sense to Tsuna. Nevertheless, Tsuna tried his hardest to believe in Reborn's words. He could do it. He had stood up to Bermuda once, down in the Vendicare prison, in a far away future. He could do it again.

"Alright." Tsuna said, loud enough for them all to hear. Natsu perked up.

"I'll do it." said the Sky Arcobaleno. "But, when this is over, I want to go home. I don't want anything more. I just want to go _home."_

Reborn nodded, smiling.

Luce stepped aside, and let Tsuna step forward towards the path to Bermuda. She put her right arm forward over her stomach, bowed, and swept her head up, spinning on her feet and then kneeling down next to Reborn. She held out a hand to him, and Reborn accepted it. Reborn pulled himself up to a sitting position with Luce's help, with his arms on his knees, and his legs spread out in front of him. He didn't stop Tsuna, but he didn't look happy or mad or sad or really anything that Tsuna saw about the entire situation. Reborn watched Tsuna walk to his doom, and Tsuna saw that.

A bitter taste was left in Tsuna's mouth, but Tsuna ignored the taste of blood from where his canine teeth had nicked his lip and strode forward, intent on fulfilling his dying will.

_I don't want to die. _

Forcing himself to his own fate, Tsuna bent down slightly with his knees, and then pushed off the ground and launched himself forward. He pulled back his right arm and forced his fingers to clench into a fist. He didn't feel all that much betrayed, just numb. Tsuna had spent the last few months suffering, and he refused to do so any longer. He wasn't going to defeat Bermuda for Reborn. He was going to do it for himself. He refused to be used and manipulated and abused by anyone else any longer. Tsuna would win, and then he would go home, and that would be that. It would all end, and there wouldn't be any more fight. There wouldn't be any more war. There wouldn't be any more death or sadness or fear. There wouldn't be any more tears. _There wouldn't be any more Arcobaleno_ his Hyper Intuition screamed at him, and Tsuna swung his fist forward, gnashing his teeth together in frustration.

Bermuda met Tsuna's punch with one of his own, and Tsuna pulled back when Night flames licked at his fingers when he held the position just a second too long. Clenching his jaw, Tsuna swung his leg around to kick Bermuda in the chest, but the Vindice leader easily warped out of the way. A sly little smirk was on Bermuda's face. Tsuna's orange eyes blazed in anger.

How dare he think it was funny that Tsuna was fighting for his life and trying his best to just survive? It wasn't fair, Tsuna thought.

Tsuna had expected Bermuda to warp in back of him, but when he spun around Bermuda wasn't there. The brunet ran two feet forward, then whipped his head to his right to what his Hyper Intuition sensed.

One thought that passed through Tsuna's head was that Bermuda distinctively looked like a cat. The second was that there was a bunch of portals around him, and if he was correct, this was what Reborn had described as the technique that had killed Sephira.

Tsuna had the advantage.

Reborn had seen Sephira die. He had told Tsuna how it worked, early on, likely in preparation for this very battle. He had told Tsuna and Tsuna hadn't taken the hint. Tsuna hadn't ever noticed what Reborn had foreshadowed, and he felt guilty about it because it had been so obvious.

Now, Tsuna focused on the sky. Bermuda would come from above, and sure enough, he did. Tsuna didn't have his eyesight that allowed him to see Bermuda, but his instincts and Hyper Intuition that Reborn had honed to perfection told him exactly where Bermuda was. So Tsuna focused on the sky, waited a second, and then shoved his fist forward.

It caught Bermuda on the underside of the man's jaw. He went flying – _to the sky_, his Hyper Intuition whined – and Tsuna breathed out deeply. He wasn't exactly relieved, but he knew that his duty was over, and that was enough for Tsunayoshi. He easily heard the crack of Bermuda's jaw when he hit it, without the vampire hearing that had been lost to him.

Chrome gasped. Tsuna had almost forgotten that she was there, as well as Byakuran. The others were slowly moving; Hibari with his now-healed arm, and Mukuro and Chrome standing side by side. Byakuran flew down to Tsuna's side and gave a small nod, not needing to say anything to show that their comradeship was a truth. Then, Byakuran flapped his wings once a soared over to where Bermuda's broken body was and checked to see if the Vindice leader was conscious – which he was – but slowly reverting to his baby form.

Byakuran gave a thumbs up to Tsuna, smiling widely.

"Who has the brat's boss watch?" Xanxus asked the majority.

Tsuna glanced over at the Varia to see that they were all in various conditions of injury, but still alive. Xanxus had an illusionary arm sustaining him and keeping him from losing all his blood. Tsuna could tell with the way his Hyper Intuition pinpointed on it.

"I do." murmured Luce, holding up the watch that had previously been hidden in the sleeve of her hat. At the hostile looks she got, the former Sky Arcobaleno added, "I do not wish to be your enemy."

"That much is clear," Mukuro remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes and dramatically waving his hand to make a deep bow. "O' great one."

Chrome kicked him in the shin.

Bermuda did not rise. Tsuna didn't want him to every again. Bermuda wasn't dead, Tsuna knew at least that much. Bermuda would never die unless his Night flame left him, and considering that horrid flame was a part of Bermuda's own creation, the likelihood of that was below the possibility of never.

Tsuna had different problems to face – his Hyper Intuition told him so.

"Why?" Tsuna asked, turning back towards Luce's form. He narrowed his eyes at her. "Did you plan this? Reborn, Yuni, all of you?" he didn't want an answer, and continued on. "You tricked me, and now Yuni," Tsuna's voice turned venomous, and his thrust his hand out to gesture at Yuni's unconscious form. Her ribs were plain to see in the daylight, her entire stomach crushed. If she were human, it was clear that she wouldn't have been alive. "is nearly dead because of you!"

"She agreed to it." Reborn said harshly. "We knew we had no chance of defeating Bermuda unless you used that vengeful dying will of yours. And you couldn't use that dying will unless you were human. We had to get you angry enough so that you would use your 'present' at the right time."

"That doesn't justify what happened!" shouted Tsuna. "None of them would have been injured if you had just told me this in the first place! Xanxus wouldn't have lost his arm, the Varia wouldn't have had to fight, Hayato and Enma and Basil and Dino and all of them wouldn't be drowning in their own blood right now if it wasn't for you! So why?! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tsuna," Reborn's voice caught the breath in Tsuna's throat and choked him. That was the voice that Reborn used when Tsuna had done something wrong. "you can't _honestly_ say that you would have willingly gone again Bermuda and won, if you hadn't seen the destruction the Vindice caused, would you?"

Reborn's voice was a mockery, a tease. He was baiting Tsuna to admit the truth, and Tsuna knew by the fast beating heart of his and the pressure in his mind that Reborn knew that truth already. Reborn could read his mind, so why, Tsuna wondered, ask him? Unless Reborn planned on mocking Tsuna, that was. Tsuna shook his head, away from the thoughts of treachery. He didn't have the time to debate on whether or not Reborn spoke the truth or not, or if he could tell that Tsuna would fight Bermuda had he not seen the destruction the Vindice had caused. It was too painful to think of.

His old self would have started crying by now. Tsunayoshi of the Vindice would have lashed out and tried to behead Reborn. Tsuna was the one that stood in his own man-made silence, actually thinking.

It was true that he wouldn't have gone after Bermuda on his own, but Tsuna was going to be damned and cursed to hell before he admitted it. He was deathly afraid of the Night flame, having experienced it first hand, and he hated not being alive. He preferred being alive to being a vampire or a Vindice. Yet, Tsuna faced that because he had been angry and sad and emotional enough that those emotions had overpowered his fear at the moment he had decided to take out Bermuda. Tsuna recognized that, but he didn't want to say it to the person who had manipulated him this entire time.

He didn't know if that was a truth or a lie anymore. Tsuna's Hyper Intuition refused to tell him if what Reborn had said was a truth or a lie, and that was what scared Tsuna the most. It scared him more than the Night flame did. Than his own Sky flame did.

"And Natsu?" Tsuna inquired, tilting his head towards his twin, to see him more clearly. Natsu had yet to stand up, still sitting in a pond of his own blood that dropped from the cuts in his tendons on his ankle. "What, did you plan to let him die if it meant defeating Bermuda?"

"No. He was perfectly safe the entire time."

"Liar." hissed Tsuna.

Reborn smirked. "I'm only as much of a liar as you are." he said. "Natsu wasn't going to die, if that's what you're asking. No matter how much I want him dead because of his actions, you'd probably gut me if he died, so I made sure Luce took him out of the game before he did something stupid, like trying to save you."

"I _trusted_ you!"

"Too bad." Reborn got to his feet, and then looked Tsuna straight in the eye. The hitman's black eyes were a black hole in the space of a thousand galaxies. "Although to speak the truth, I do like you. I still consider you my apprentice. Well, actually I did intend to manipulate you from the start, since you were so broken back then and it was so easy to do, but along the way I might have gotten a tad bit too attached to you."

Tsuna wanted to punch Reborn for his words. The only thing that kept him from it was his Hyper Intuition that dutifully told him that if he did he'd only bring pain to himself for it.

"Reborn, I don't think you should tease him any further."

Luce moved forward as she spoke, walking towards Tsuna. He watched her with wary eyes, not stepping backwards but not going forward to meet her either. Once in front of him, she held out her hand for him to grab.

_Dance, _cooed his Hyper Intuition. _Find your truth._

_But what Reborn said is the truth...right? He said he was manipulating me. This doesn't make any sense. _Tsuna thought. _Unless you're saying he was lying? Stupid Hyper Intuition! Talking in riddles...at least it isn't as bad as before though...all my thoughts jumbled up and being unable to think._

"Tease...?" Tsuna wanted them to speak, to tell the truth, without riddles and tricks and jokes. He was so, so, so very tired of everything. He didn't want to fight with anyone anymore, whether it by physical, mentally, or through words. "If this is one of your jokes, Reborn, then I'll hate you for it. I'll hate you forever."

"I know. Don't get me wrong, Tsuna, I do care for you. I only needed you to do this one thing for me." said Reborn. "True, I manipulated you and tricked you at the start because I thought it was amusing, but I care for your safety now. Do you think I would have leaped in front of you to get my heart impaled because I didn't care? Yes, it was planned, but it still hurt like hell. I saved you from the Vindice, didn't I? In the future. I did everything so that we could live – peacefully. So that we could live peacefully, Tsuna."

Tsuna spit at him and grabbed the fedora that Reborn had dropped on his head earlier. The hat felt warm to his hand, but Tsuna ripped it off his head and then threw it back at Reborn. "You lied. You caused them all to get injured. You may care for me, but you don't care about them! Reborn!" Tsuna was desperate now, his voice rising. "Humans matter! I care about them! How could you let them be injured and almost die? If you cared about me, then you'd realized that I care more about my loved ones than I do for only Natsu! Yes, I would care if he died, and I'd stab you for it, but I also care if they die! If my guardians die! If the Varia die! If my friends die!"

Reborn looked vaguely confused. It was an expression that none had ever seen on his face before. It wasn't a look the person named Reborn was supposed to wear.

Before Reborn could say something, Tsuna's ears picked up Natsu's cry.

Tsuna turned his head. It didn't take long to see what had happened. He was seven feet away from Natsu, but with his human abilities, he was nowhere near close enough or fast enough to do anything as he saw Jager's chain go through Natsu's heart.

The watch on Tsuna's hand beeped, telling him his minutes were up, and Tsuna felt his body's organs pause and his heartbeat disappear and the need for oxygen leave him. Tsuna still mimicked breathing, too used to it to let it go so soon after gaining it back. The passage into a vampire was a slow process.

It was too slow. Tsuna ran forward, faster than he'd ever ran before, and his Sky flames responded to his fear and slammed forward ahead of him, engulfing the monster known as Jager. The watch on Jager's wrist burned into nothingness, as did Jager himself. The chains and bandages and cloak that the Vindice were also eradicated, and the chain that was stabbed through Natsu's heart vanished just as Jager did. There were no ashes left.

The process took five seconds.

Tsuna reached Natsu in eleven seconds.

Natsu didn't have time to say any final words. His amber eyes met Tsuna's orange ones, seeing Tsuna come close, and then the light was gone. Natsu's body fell to the ground, the corpse laying on its back, and Tsuna _howled_.

His Hyper Intuition was roaring. It refused to acknowledge the death that had happened in front of it. One moment, it was crying with Tsuna in a myriad of screams, and in the next second, it was dead silent.

Jager was gone, his boss watch with him. They hadn't broken his boss watch – they had forgotten. They all had, too focused on what damage Bermuda could cause with his light speed, too caught up in fake betrayal and emotion to truly pay attention to the scene that had happened in front of them.

Tsuna could hear Bermuda laughing, although it was distorted due to Bermuda's broken jaw.

The brunet cradled Natsu's body in his arms, his arms grabbing tightly onto unmoving shoulders. Tsuna's eyes were glowing red, his mind and thoughts out of his control to force them back to their normal color of orange. Blood covered the pants and sleeves of the clothes Tsuna wore. His hands were stained with the red blood that vampires like Reborn and Luce and Yuni – and he himself – drank so much.

Tsuna's cry ended shortly, and it subsided to silent, stifled sobs. Hardly a sound escaped him as he bit down on his lip and didn't care about anything else. Natsu did not move, did not breathe as he was supposed to.

.

Sawada Natsuhiko was dead.

.

Clapping was heard, and all the heads of all the people turned towards it, besides Tsuna. A sound of resentment clawed its way out of Reborn's throat, but still, Tsuna did not turn.

"That was a good show you put on," said Checkerface, smiling the way he always did when speaking to the people he thought were below him. "if not a bit gory in the end."

Checkerface stopped clapping, and seemed to sigh. Then, the man raised his hand and offered a hand out with his palm up to gesture towards Tsuna.

"The winner is Sawada Tsunayoshi."

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**Well, there you go. I enjoyed this chapter.**

**. **ALSO updating early because I wrote this quite easily and because you guys deserve it after the cliffhanger ending in the last chapter!

.You can all go cheer now for Natsu's death. Yes, he is dead, and he is dead for good. No trick, no lie. Sawada/Akitoshi Natsuhiko is dead!


	28. A Vampire Happy Ending

**Red**

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

Luce pulled forth a chain from around her leg and flung it forward at Checkerface. Her face, unlike before, was not blank. Her eyebrows were tilted downwards, her lips were curved down in distaste, and her body near trembled in an emotion the Arcobaleno knew all too well.

The Sun Arcobaleno wrapped his arms around her, trapping her arms to her sides and holding her in place before she could do any lasting damage. Pissing off the man who had cursed them wasn't a good idea, no matter how much they all wanted to kill him. Reborn knew that Checkerface would make the others into Arcobaleno and the current would have their flames sucked out of them. Reborn would live, but he wouldn't be whole again, and he feared turning into a Vindice if that happened.

"Luce, wait." said Reborn. "If you attack him now, we might involve the others. I don't want Tsuna to get hurt if you start something."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Verde asked, jumping forward in his small baby form. Viper followed after him, and then Lal and Colonello. Colonello didn't look very good in the state of physical form, but Lal easily dragged him behind her. Skull followed at a decreased pace. "I don't intend to die today, Reborn. You'd better do something."

"Oi, at least he warned us. That's more than you ever did." snapped Lal.

"I'm gonna barf." moaned Colonello, cowering behind Lal with his arms over his mouth. "My stomach, kora."

"Checkerface," Reborn called, directing Checkerface's attention away from the crying Tsuna. Reborn's red eyes were locked onto Checkerface's form, in case he did something that would lead to less than satisfactory results. Fortunately, the man did not move towards Tsuna. "what do you intend to do now? Now that the Sky Arcobaleno, Sawada Tsunayoshi, has won? Will he stay an Arcobaleno, since he was just turned into one? Or..."

"Will you all die together, is what you're asking me?" drawled Checkerface. The man waved his hand in front of his face, and the mask fell. Reborn didn't so much as flinch at the face of the man (creature) that had trapped him into the curse of the rainbow. The others, however, showed various shades of discomfort or shock at the face of the person they hated so dearly. "No. I have a better solution, Renato Chaos. You are not so unlike me. Sephira turned you, and in return you have lived for centuries. Never in any other parallel worlds have I had this opportunity to make immortal Arcobaleno – people who could sustain the system for an eternity! In a sense, yes, you will all die, but you will all live."

"You dare-!" Luce snarled, lunging forward out of Reborn's grip. Reborn barely managed to catch the edge of her clothes and drag her backwards before the enraged Sky made another attempt at the man. Luce hated anyone who messed with her elements, a hate stronger than her hate for Bermuda. "I won't let you turn them into vampires! They deserve to stay human! They deserve to live!"

Hands shoved and jabbed into Reborn's ribs, but the Sun Arcobaleno didn't let up. Luce pushed against him relentlessly, trying to escape his hold. Frowning, Fon walked forward and leapt up onto Luce's shoulder, making the Sky pause for a moment. Fon smiled and patted Luce on the shoulder.

"It's fine." he said. "That fate is much better than leaving you and Reborn alone to suffer, and better than dying. We- the Arcobaleno – if it means living forever, then we do not mind. You are our Sky. We would not be able to live with ourselves if you were forced to live alone as the world progressed on and on without any company. I doubt Reborn would stay with you unless we forced him to, after all."

Fon chuckled at this, a clear testament on how well he knew Reborn's habits. The hitman tended to disappear at random and wouldn't come back until months or years later. He was a solitary creature that didn't like to be tied down to anything or anyone, including Luce, seeing as she resembled his former Master far too much. Sephira was a reflection of Luce, and that pained Reborn, and it was clear for all of Luce's elements to see that.

"Yeah, kora!" agreed Colonello. "We wanna become vampires if it means we get to live and be adults!"

"But-," Reborn began, and then stopped. His own Sun flame had been taken by the pacifier that he wore around his neck. It was slowly killing him, making him sicker by the day. Checkerface must have known that he wouldn't last long. It didn't make sense – neither would his companions if they became Arcobaleno. "I don't understand."

"Naturally, if you just stopped transforming into your adult form for a century, your flames would naturally replenish themselves without the pacifier drawing them in at large amounts. You never tried to stay in your baby form for long amounts of time – and thus you never replenished your flame fast enough." said Checkerface, or as he must have been called sometime in the past due to his human identity, Kawahira. "Shouldn't Sephira have told you that basic concept of flames?"

Reborn bit his tongue.

"I was only with Sephira for a few centuries. She died before she could tell me anything of importance, and I was left to take care of Luce to do anything more or try to find out what secrets she left behind." Reborn placed his right hand on his chest, where it had previously been a gaping hole with no heart filling it. It was healed now, after his transformation into his past 'pure' form – a human one. "However, she wasn't scared of death, not like you. You may claim that you want to keep the Trinisette in place, and that if it wasn't for the pacifiers and the ring sets the world would be imbalanced, but that's not true. You, and the other originals, were just as immortal as I am now. You each could have held onto a pacifier, instead of leaving or dying off in stupid ways. Instead, you shoved the balance onto humans, cursed us because you were too afraid of what would happen if you took on the weight of those stones. All except Sephira. She survived, and she held the Sky pacifier for centuries long, all up until Bermuda killed her. If not for that, she could have sustained it for years longer. So, quite nicely, I blame you and your companions for what has happened, and that is why I do not like this idea of turning them into vampires of all things just because you _originals _were too afraid to face what you had created!"

"Reborn!" hissed Lal, warningly.

Pushing Checkerface's buttons, as people called it, wasn't the way to go. Reborn didn't care. He had lived long enough and he hadn't any regrets besides what had passed already and was something that could not be changed no matter how hard he tried or how powerful he was.

Giotto's, and by extension, Natsu and Tsuna's Hyper Intuition, might have been able to surpass Checkerface's abilities if only by pure luck. Reborn had given Giotto that ability in exchange for companionship and blood, and Giotto had used it to build an organization that would go down in history as the bloodiest one every made. The countless generations had ruined Giotto's precious famiglia and thrown it into the dirt, and that was what Reborn hated the most. But he had used that to his advantage, used the Vongola's reputation, the Arcobaleno's power over the Trinisette to hide himself from those that would wish to harm him. Reborn was selfish, and he knew that, but he hated to admit his weakness, just the same as Checkerface did with his little pacifier secret Reborn had just revealed.

"So you would not want them to live?" questioned Checkerface (Kawahira, Reborn's mind whispered, but he paid it no mind; the man's name meant nothing when the intention behind the person didn't change).

"They would only survive."

Checkerface's hands dropped to his sides and the man inclined his head. "You are very cynical, Chaos."

"I've had many names. Renato Chaos, Reborn, Sinclair. Whatever name you use doesn't change anything. I'm only the person who Sephira chose to live next to her. You lost that opportunity at the very start when you refused to hold onto one of the pacifiers and supply it with your own power."

Reborn sneered and declared, "You're just jealous of me."

If there was anything that could speak of Reborn's smug, self-glorifying attitude with no fear in the world, it would be that line. The Arcobaleno knew it, and none of them knew how to react to it. Colonello had to choke back a sudden burst of what he thought to be a cough come up his throat and Lal fell onto his shoulder, her knees straight and unbent, her face stone.

Mammon tilted the hood of the cloak down, standing next to Verde. Fon smiled just a bit less. Verde looked about ready to shoot the hitman's face off.

The man standing a few meters in front of Reborn frowned.

If Natsuhiko were alive, he would have been laughing, Reborn reflected as he looked forward at a man he very much hated. Reborn had hated Checkerface from the start, and the most. The others, the ones as equals between Checkerface and Luce had all died or disappeared in odd ways, and were less hated, but Reborn still blamed them partly for all that had happened. At first Reborn had hated Sephira too, when she had turned him into something he had despised and been revolted and disgusted by.

* * *

Ashes.

Tsuna's eyes looked for the ashes of the one he had burned. They weren't there. It was somehow wrong, his mind pointed out – and truly, it was Tsuna's own thoughts, own feelings, because his Hyper Intuition had left him and refused to speak as Tsuna held the body of his twin and brother.

_This wasn't supposed to happen. _Tsuna thought.

Natsu's eyes stared into his but Tsuna could find no light there. There was no sign of life, no movement, no small grin on Natsu's face. It was all gone, in a flash, in a single moment that Tsuna couldn't stop.

The beads in Natsu's hair had lost their color, the red and blue faded to a dull grey. The bracelet around Natsu's wrist was no longer green, and was instead black. Kyoko's hair clips that held Natsu's bangs on his right side up were half undone, one of them having fallen on the ground, laying next to Natsu's ear. The other was half holding Natsu's hair together and half unclipped.

_If only I'd been closer._

Yet, Tsuna hadn't been closer. He'd never been close to his brother, after all. Never in his life had they been anything other than enemies. Their relationship was lost the moment Kyoko had died. Dear Kyoko – that was the only thing Tsuna could even think about her. She was always the angel, the saving grace, and then she was the demon, the evil thing and part of the story that had sent his life into hell. She was his curse, and now Natsu was also his curse.

The Vongola ring was on Natsu's finger. It wasn't burning or glowing. It was twinkling. Like stars in the distant sky. Tsuna, noticing it, blinked twice and tried to get the tears out of his eyes to make sure they weren't a trick of light. It wasn't. The ring was sparking in certain places like a flame, like ashes still burning, like something about to-

Tsuna shrieked. His hands shot forward to grab the ring, but it was sparking too fast and Tsuna couldn't use his legs because they were bent beneath him and his mind was thinking too fast just as if he were a Vindice bellowing at him that he was too late.

It didn't make a loud sound.

It was more of a ding.

When Tsuna lifted his hands away from the corpse of his brother, the Vongola Sky ring lay broken and unshining. It was in pieces – not just split into two or three, but into a dozen and more. If one would try to assemble it together, they would have to know what the original thing looked like – a ring – to even see what it was.

The brunet looked at the pieces of the ring, and then slowly, not to Natsu's face, but to the Arcobaleno, a twisted sort of confusion running circles in his mind. He wasn't so full of his grief that he couldn't recognize the importance of the ring. It was important because it was part of the Trinisette and no normal thing could break it, so Tsuna didn't understand what exactly it was.

Tsuna knew full well that his father could quit the CEDEF and become boss of the Vongola, and have another child if need be. It wouldn't be preferable, and it wouldn't be proper, but surely the boss' and the ring didn't reject his father sometime in his life. The Vongola, the current one, would do anything to keep surviving, even if that meant using the CEDEF advisor as a makeshift boss.

The ring still had one person left – unless it didn't.

Tsuna stared at the ring.

Then, angry, because this didn't make any sense as much as Natsu dying did, he smashed the flat of his hand and the pieces of the ring on the ground and then hit them with his fist a couple of times, closing his eyes tight as he did so. He huffed, done, and then lifted his hand away from the pieces of the ring to look back at Natsu.

He knew he shouldn't be sad. Tsuna was sure that he wasn't – that wasn't it. It was more important than family connections, as if he had lost a piece of himself. Tsuna was dependent on Natsu for all the wrong reasons, and now realizing that his twin was gone, it wasn't something he was ready to face. He hadn't been able to face Natsu until he'd been a Vindice and forced to, and he wasn't ready to face Natsu's death, at least, not for a long while.

Tsuna whipped the tears away from his eyes and then ran the back of his hand over both cheeks to make sure no tear marks could be seen. His cheeks were probably red, but Tsuna wasn't trying to hide that he had been crying. It was more of a closure, his mind saying to him that it was time to go, that once the crying was done it was time to do something more. It wasn't done yet. Tsuna still had something to do. He was fully aware of that. Tsuna couldn't die without finishing the very thing he had started by accepting Reborn's threat of 'scream and I'll drop you' so long ago.

He stood up.

As he stood, Tsuna grabbed the leftovers of what used to be the Sky ring, and then tossed them up in the air a few times, gauging their weight. Once Tsuna was sure that he would be able to do what he wanted properly, he turned to face the direction where the Sky pacifier was, laying on the ground where it had been dropped when he had asked for his present. Tsuna very quietly walked over; not drawing any eyes towards him because they were all mostly focused on Checkerface, including Tsuna's own guardians.

The brunet bent down and laid the pieces of the Vongola ring next to the pacifier, and then leaned back onto his bottom and put his legs out in front of him. He was closest to the tiny Arcobaleno, most notably, Verde and Mammon.

_Well, I don't really know what to say, but I know that Natsu talked to you when trying to get me back to normal. I also know that you're connected to the pacifier and to the Vongola Sky ring. I know that Natsu could see you often too, and that you were always near us and Reborn. Giotto won't talk to me, I know that. I lost the opportunity for being a stupid fool, but you're different. You're not bound by the pacifier fully, right? Your spirit can wander, so...so, will you fix this? Not...not the ring, but maybe convince them of what you think about this? I think the Arcobaleno becoming vampires is the only thing that can truly end this cycle so..._

Tsuna sighed, stopping his thoughts for a moment, and glanced over at Reborn and Luce. Reborn had lied to him earlier to make him angry and Luce hadn't ever told anything but the truth most of the time. He didn't know which one it would hurt more.

_I can't see you, but I know you can make yourself appear like Giotto does. So help me or-or I'll break this pacifier too! I'll die with it, but if you don't help me then I don't care!_

"You wouldn't do that. I know you better than that. Natsu thought about you nonstop, child." Sephira objected. "But I'll help you. I helped Natsu once, and it would be fair if I helped you to even out the score." She scowled. "I will not say that I am a saint. You understand what you're asking for, don't you?"

The others in the square didn't notice her, and her transparent form, so Tsuna guessed this was what Natsu had seen all those sunrises ago, on some day close to this where he had almost lost his twin to insanity.

Tsuna tried for the humor route. "You'll annoy me to death with me being the only one that can see you?"

Sephira _glared. _"_No._ You get to be the same as Natsu. Natsu's flame, his soul, everything, is stuck in that ring, just as every previous boss's soul was. You, since you've called upon the powers of the pacifier, and in extension, me, get to be stuck in that thing with me when you die. Have _fun."_

"You sound…annoyed." Tsuna didn't understand it. Sephira was supposed to be a more nicer version of Reborn, not this. "Why?"

"Every single universe is linked together with the Trinisette. You'll not only exist in this dimension, but every single parallel world that exists with that in it pacifier. Stuck observing _idiots _who hold onto the pacifier. _Idiots."_

"Oh."

Tsuna was expecting something worse, but, he thought, _whatever _because he wasn't planning on dying anytime soon. Well, within the next day "soon".

In the next two minutes, Tsuna saw Reborn stumble, Luce gasp, and one Checkerface with wide eyes. Sephira stepped in front of Reborn, stepped closer to him and whispered something Tsuna couldn't hear in his ear and then kneed him in the place Tsuna would never want to be hit in. Reborn sunk to the ground, confused and his mind halfway through processing the words he had heard in his ear. He knelt on the ground, not paying any bit of attention to Checkerface anymore. Clearly whatever Sephira had said had reached him.

None of them but Tsuna could see her. That much was clear to Tsuna when Luce's eyes were unfocused on the spot Reborn had sunk down to, and not Sephira herself. Checkerface was a different story. Tsuna was sure the man could sense her presence, having been near to the Trinisette pieces in their making, but it was unlikely he could see her since she strolled in front of him and took his hat off his head, quite likely scaring him if he would have showed any reaction.

For the others, the hat would have floated in the air. For Tsuna, he was seeing Reborn's mentor annoyed at all of their 'childish antics'. Sephira dropped the hat onto Luce's head, then spoke the words,

"It is the day of the dead. Accept it."

Then she was gone. Tsuna blinked as the pacifier in his hands glowed just a tiny bit.

"I suppose, if those idiots are okay with it, they can become immortals." remarked Reborn. "I'm not going to be the one to turn them. I don't want to drink _their _blood. Probably has some nasty disease."

Lal kicked him in the shin.

Verde stabbed him with a needle.

Hearing coughing, Tsuna directed his gaze to Yuni, who was getting up from her crater. Her outfit was in shreds, and she had taken the white cloak she had clasped around her shoulders and wrapped it around her chest and underneath her armpits so it looked like a dress. She had lost one boot, as it was mostly shredded on one side where she had impacted the cement. She kicked it off into the air and Byakuran flew down to her side, catching it as he did.

Her stomach and chest area wasn't in any way healed. Tsuna could still smell the blood (and see it) staining the front of the white cloak until most of it on her front was a dark red.

"Byakuran!" whined Yuni, complaining as Byakuran insisted on getting her healed first when his own wounds seemed more important to Yuni, considering in her mind that she thought herself unable to die. "It just took a while to shove my ribs back in the right place so they couldn't fall out and adjust to the pain! I'm fine! I haven't lost all my blood yet, and you're wounds are much worse for a human! You're the one that should be getting healed immediately!"

Byakuran blanched. "You're standing in a _puddle _of blood Yuni-chan!"

His sing-song voice was clearly gone, replaced with his incredulous attitude over the insane amount of blood at Yuni's feet and the state of her body. It wasn't something a mafia boss saw daily, and most people died from the wounds Yuni had unless they were Reborn or Luce or one of the Vindice, so Byakuran was notably concerned in Tsuna's opinion. Yuni was close to death, Tsuna was sure, she just didn't want to say anything about it now that the battle was done.

"Tsuuu-naaa!" Yuni hollered, her arms up in the air and her hands forming fists. She jumped up in down to show that she could move and wasn't as fragile as grass, but that seemed to irk Byakuran more. "Tell him that I'm not dying!"

"But you are, Yuni-chan~!" insisted Byakuran.

Tsuna didn't want to get into the discussion, because if he did, he'd have to walk closer, and if he came closer to Yuni, he'd be closer to Natsu again, and he'd see his twin's corpse again, and he didn't want that. Luce was blocking his view of it, and he didn't think he could handle it without securing down his emotions first and then barfing a few times for good measure and then walking over to see what hadn't changed with Natsu's dead body that was certainly a corpse and not anything close to alive.

So Tsuna shook his head, in the sort of disagreeing way, and that was enough for Byakuran. The white-haired teenager swept Yuni off her feet and carried her over to the sidelines where Hibari, Chrome, Mukuro, Shouchi and the gang were and ordered somebody to heal her.

Somewhere near the edge of the square, Squalo was retrieving Xanxus' lost arm.

Best to heal it when there was still pieces left of it, or so Reborn had told him long ago, and best to not leave evidence that someone had lost their arm in a very public place in a civilian town. Not exactly good for the whole secret mafia stuff, Tsuna agreed.

"Thank you, Sephira." whispered Tsuna.

The Sky pacifier pulsed lightly underneath his fingertips. Tsuna took that as a sign that she was waiting for him to do something entertaining (and not idiotic) so Tsuna slid the pacifier around his neck again with the chain attached to it and then walked over to Reborn to help the elder vampire up. Reborn hissed something nasty at the Sky pacifier, having figured out what had happened, and then gave a look at Checkerface.

"So stay a year as a baby and get ten as an adult?"

"It doesn't work-,"

"Yes it does. Make it work."

"R-,"

Reborn took the hat off Luce's head, which was easy since she was only a footstep away from him, and chucked it at Checkerface. "Make it work." He ordered.

The hitman turned to other Arcobaleno. "Blood banks are wonderful things. I say we raid a Vongola hospital."

By now, Squalo had given Xanxus back his arm, but, hearing this comment, Xanxus roared and hurled the arm at Reborn, where it slammed into the hitman's face and splattered a bunch of blood across his eyes and forehead.

Squalo yelled insults at his boss and then stomped over to retrieve the arm yet again.

Reborn laughed. He was forced to wipe the blood away as it dripped past his eyes, obscuring his vision, which made him stop the loud sound that seemed to break through any of the tension that might have still been lingering between doubt and satisfaction. Luce stood to her full height, and adjusted her dress so that it didn't threaten to sag down to the ground any further. She beckoned the Arcobaleno close.

"Which one of you would like to become immortal first?" she asked.

* * *

O0O0OxX…XxO0O0O

* * *

**E N D**

**-okami endless-**

**.**

(There may be an epilogue, like, years after now, but probably not. No sequel either. I'm done with this story.)

(Story ended at: ~150000 words, ~205 reviews, 281 favs, 28 chapters) (Started: Nov. 28, 2014. Ended: July 2, 2015.)


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